Working Paper: NBER ID: w15571
Authors: Alison F. Del Rossi; W. Kip Viscusi
Abstract: This article investigates the determinants of the blockbuster punitive damages awards of at least $100 million. As of the end of 2008, there had been 100 such awards with an average value of $3.0 billion. The U.S. Supreme Court decision in State Farm v. Campbell suggested a single digit upper bound on the punitive damages/compensatory damages ratio, which reduced the annual number of blockbuster awards, the total annual value of blockbuster awards, and the punitive damages/compensatory damages ratio. Applying the 1:1 ratio from Exxon Shipping Co. et al. v. Baker et al. broadly would eliminate most of the blockbuster awards.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: K10; K40
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| 11:1 ratio (C29) | eliminate most blockbuster awards (Y30) |
| U.S. Supreme Court decisions (K37) | drop in the number of blockbuster punitive damages awards (K41) |
| U.S. Supreme Court decisions (K37) | drop in the amounts of blockbuster punitive damages awards (K41) |
| U.S. Supreme Court decisions (K37) | drop in the ratio of punitive to compensatory damages (K13) |
| State Farm decision (G52) | decrease in responsiveness of punitive damages to compensatory damages (K13) |