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- Title
United States Supreme Court Will Review West Virginia Supreme Court Decision on Punitive Damages.
- Authors
Maroney, Patrick F.
- Abstract
The West Virginia Supreme Court found that TXO Production Corp. intentionally brought a frivolous suit against Alliance Resources Corp. The court wrote that the real intent of the suit was to obtain a reduction in royalty payments under an oil and gas lease. Alliance Resources countersued alleging that the TXO action constituted slander of title. At the trial court, a judgment was entered against TXO in the amount of $19,000 in compensatory damages and $10,000,000 in punitive damages. TXO appealed, and one of the grounds for appeal was that the punitive damages awarded violated due process. The court then laid out guidelines and wrote that for really stupid defendants punitive damage awards might be limited to five times compensatory damages, with exceptions. For realty mean defendants, those who act intentionally in committing mean-spirited and harmful acts, the courts wrote that punitive damage awards five hundred times compensatory damages are not necessarily unconstitutional. Unfortunately, by suggesting the use of such subjective and nontechnical terms as really stupid and really mean, the majority has offered no practical guidance to attorneys or judges in analyzing punitive damages cases.
- Subjects
WEST Virginia; UNITED States; ACTIONS &; defenses (Law); TXO Productions Corp.; ALLIANCE Resources Corp.; EXEMPLARY damages; COMPENSATION (Law)
- Publication
Journal of Risk & Insurance, 1993, Vol 60, Issue 1, p153
- ISSN
0022-4367
- Publication type
Article