The Supreme Court threw out an $80 million judgment against Philip Morris.The Supreme Court threw out an $80 million judgment against Philip Morris. The plaintiff's lawyer had told the jury to think about all the people whom the company was hurting when it decided how much to award in punitive damages Monetary compensation awarded to an injured party that goes beyond that which is necessary to compensate the individual for losses and that is intended to punish the wrongdoer. . But the Court found that the company couldn't fairly be punished for damages to people who weren't involved in the lawsuit. We agree that the damage award was excessive. But the Court's logic is hard to credit. The Court would let juries consider harm to non-litigants in deciding how "reprehensible rep·re·hen·si·ble adj. Deserving rebuke or censure; blameworthy. See Synonyms at blameworthy. [Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin repreh " a company's actions were, but not consider harm in imposing damages. Where is that in the Constitution? The courts have a role to play in reining in litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. , but that role should not be to engage in ad hoc For this purpose. Meaning "to this" in Latin, it refers to dealing with special situations as they occur rather than functions that are repeated on a regular basis. See ad hoc query and ad hoc mode. and extra-constitutional judicial rulemaking. |
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