426
Opinion of the Court
filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, post, p. 443. Ginsburg, J., filed a dissenting opinion, post, p. 444.
William Bradford Reynolds argued the cause for petitioner. With him on the briefs was Bradley J. Schlozman.
Jonathan S. Massey argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief were Laurence H. Tribe, J. Peter Staples, and Thomas C. Goldstein.*
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court. A jury found petitioner guilty of unfair competition and awarded respondent $50,000 in compensatory damages and $4.5 million in punitive damages. The District Court held that the punitive damages award did not violate the Federal Constitution. The Court of Appeals concluded that "the district court did not abuse its discretion in declining to reduce the amount of punitive damages." App. to Pet. for Cert. 4a. The issue in this case is whether the Court of Appeals applied the wrong standard of review in considering the constitutionality of the punitive damages award.
*Briefs of amici curiae urging reversal were filed for American Home Products Corp. et al. by Walter E. Dellinger and John F. Daum; for General Dynamics Corp. by S. Thomas Todd; and for the Product Liability Advisory Council, Inc., by Griffin B. Bell, Chilton Davis Varner, Paul D. Clement, and Jeffrey S. Bucholtz. Jeffrey Robert White and Frederick M. Baron filed a brief for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America as amicus curiae urging affirmance.
Briefs of amici curiae were filed for the Alliance of American Insurers et al. by Richard Hodyl, Jr.; for the American Tort Reform Association et al. by Victor E. Schwartz, Mark A. Behrens, Leah Lorber, Jan S. Amundson, J. V. Schwan, David F. Zoll, Donald D. Evans, Jeffrey L. Gabardi, and Louis Saccoccio; for the Association of American Railroads by Carter G. Phillips, Gene C. Schaerr, Stephen B. Kinnaird, and Daniel Saphire; for the California Employment Law Council et al. by William J. Kilberg and Thomas G. Hungar; for the Chamber of Commerce of the United States by Andrew L. Frey, Evan M. Tager, and Robin S. Conrad; for the Washington Legal Foundation et al. by Arvin Maskin, Daniel J. Popeo, and Paul D. Kamenar; and for Arthur F. McEvoy by Kenneth Chesebro and Mr. McEvoy, pro se.
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007