438
Ginsburg, J., dissenting
U. S., at 458, quoting Haslip, 499 U. S., at 18. Writing for the plurality, Justice Stevens explained:
"[W]e do not suggest that a defendant has a substantive due process right to a correct determination of the 'reasonableness' of a punitive damages award. As Justice O'Connor points out, state law generally imposes a requirement that punitive damages be 'reasonable.' A violation of a state law 'reasonableness' requirement would not, however, necessarily establish that the award is so 'grossly excessive' as to violate the Federal Constitution." 509 U. S., at 458, n. 24 (citation omitted).
B
The procedures Oregon's courts followed in this case satisfy the due process limits indicated in Haslip and TXO; the jurors were adequately guided by the trial court's instructions, and Honda has not maintained, in its full presentation to this Court, that the award in question was "so 'grossly excessive' as to violate the Federal Constitution." TXO, 509 U. S., at 458, n. 24.2
1
Several preverdict mechanisms channeled the jury's discretion more tightly in this case than in either Haslip or TXO. First, providing at least some protection against unguided, utterly arbitrary jury awards, respondent Karl Oberg was permitted to recover no more than the amounts specified in the complaint, $919,390.39 in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. See Ore. Rule Civ. Proc. 18B (1994); Wiebe v. Seely, 215 Ore. 331, 355-358, 335 P. 2d 379, 391 (1959); Lovejoy Specialty Hosp. v. Advocates for Life, Inc., 121 Ore. App. 160, 167, 855 P. 2d 159, 163 (1993). The trial court properly instructed the jury on this damage
2 The Supreme Court of Oregon noted that "procedural due process in the context of an award of punitive damages relates to the requirement that the procedure employed in making that award be fundamentally fair," while the substantive limit declared by this Court relates to the size of the award. 316 Ore. 263, 280, n. 10, 851 P. 2d 1084, 1094, n. 10 (1993).
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