Obstacles to Determining Punitive Damages in Class Actions
Issue Date
2001Author
Hines, Laura J.
Publisher
Wake Forest Law Review
Type
Article
Article Version
Scholarly/refereed, publisher version
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Courts and commentators have often embraced the class action device as an ideal means of assessing punitive damages fairly in mass tort cases. In this Article, Professor Hines sounds a cautionary note by identifying a number of procedural and substantive obstacles that may thwart effective class treatment of punitive damages. For example, punitive damages claims often will not raise questions common to the class because of differing state standards for awarding and assessing the amount of punitive damages. In addition, state punitive damages claims often will not raise questions common to the class because of differing state standards for awarding and assessing the amount of punitive damages laws recent Supreme Court due process jurisprudence preclude imposition of class punitive damages prior to some assessment of harm to the class as a whole. In light of these concerns, this Article urges courts to proceed cautiously before certifying class claims for punitive damages with careful regard for the dictates of Rule 23, state punitive damages laws, and the due process clause.
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Citation
Laura J. Hines, Obstacles to Determining Punitive Damages in Class Actions, 36 Wake Forest Law Review 889-942 (2001).
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