Where a landlord evicted a tenant by locking him out and bypassed the legal process outlined in the lease, the landlord was liable for conversion, and the Court of Appeals affirmed an award based on “the present day value of the personal property which Plaintiff claimed was not returned.” In…
When a trial court awards punitive damages, it must engage in sufficient analysis on the relevant factors, and its “order must clearly demonstrate how each factor impacted the court’s decision.” In Cox v. Cox, No. E2016-01097-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 29, 2017), plaintiff husband filed suit against defendant wife for…
In Overton v. Westgate Resorts, LTD., L.P., No. E2014-00303-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 30, 2015), the Court of Appeals recently affirmed a punitive damage award in a fraud and misrepresentation case. Plaintiffs had traveled to Gatlinburg to look for and purchase a timeshare. Their…
In Tennessee, punitive damages may be awarded only if a defendant has acted intentionally, fraudulently, maliciously, or recklessly. This must be proven by clear and convincing evidence. Several factors shall be considered, which are set out in the leading case Hodges v. S.C. Toof & Co., 833 S.W.2d 896 (Tenn.…
Tennessee law permits the recovery of punitive damages when a defendant has engaged in reckless conduct. Because the standard for criminally negligent homicide mirrors the standard for recklessness necessary to recover punitive damages, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals’ affirmation of the guilty verdict against a criminal defendant in a recent case could…
The Senate Judiciary Committee has just voted to reject a bill that would have allowed corporations and other employers to escape responsibility for punitive damages based on the reckless conduct of their employees. SB2637 by Republican Senator Brian Kelsey (House version by Republican Rep. Vance Dennis), Tennessee would have held…
Missouri has a cap on punitive damages. The cap is $500,000 or five times compensatory damages, whichever is greater. Kansas City Star reports that on November 2, 2011, the Missouri Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Estate of Max E. Overbey and Glenna J. Overbey v. Franklin, Case No. SC91369…
The Supreme Court of Iowa has ruled that punitive damages cannot be recovered from the estate of a dead tortfeasor. The thinking goes that punitive damages cannot punish a dead person. In addition, the Court held that in such cases the actor’s state of mind is important and direct evidence of the…
A settlement has been reached in Mohr v. Daimler Chrysler Corp., a products liability case which alleged defects in a 2000 Dodge Caravan. The Court of Appeals affirmed almost $5,000,000 in compensatory damage awards for the death of the driver and front-seat passenger in the case. The court also affirmed…
The Social Science Research Network has an article available that is of interest to tort lawyers: The Decision to Award Punitive Damages: An Empirical Study. Here is the abstract: Empirical studies have consistently shown that punitive damages are rarely awarded, with rates of about three to five percent of plaintiff…