Cite as: 538 U. S. 408 (2003)
Syllabus
is dwarfed by the $145 million punitive damages award. The Utah Supreme Court's references to a broad fraudulent scheme drawn from outof-state and dissimilar conduct evidence were insufficient to justify this amount. P. 428.
(c) Applying Gore's guideposts to the facts here, especially in light of the substantial compensatory damages award, likely would justify a punitive damages award at or near the compensatory damages amount. The Utah courts should resolve in the first instance the proper punitive damages calculation under the principles discussed here. P. 429.
65 P. 3d 1134, reversed and remanded.
Kennedy, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Rehnquist, C. J., and Stevens, O'Connor, Souter, and Breyer, JJ., joined. Scalia, J., post, p. 429, Thomas, J., post, p. 429, and Ginsburg, J., post, p. 430, filed dissenting opinions.
Sheila L. Birnbaum argued the cause for petitioner. With her on the briefs were Barbara Wrubel, Douglas W. Dunham, and Ellen P. Quackenbos.
Laurence H. Tribe argued the cause for respondents. With him on the brief were Kenneth Chesebro, Jonathan S. Massey, Roger P. Christensen, and Karra J. Porter.*
*Briefs of amici curiae urging reversal were filed for the Alliance of American Insurers et al. by Mark F. Horning, Charles G. Cole, and Bennett Evan Cooper; for the American Council of Life Insurers by William F. Sheehan and Victoria E. Fimea; for the American Tort Reform Association by Roy T. Englert, Jr., and Alan E. Untereiner; for the Business Roundtable by Malcolm E. Wheeler; for the Chamber of Commerce of the United States by Andrew L. Frey, Andrew H. Schapiro, Evan M. Tager, and Robin S. Conrad; for Common Good by Philip K. Howard, Robert A. Long, Jr., and Keith A. Noreika; for the Defense Research Institute by Patrick Lysaught; for Ford Motor Co. by Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr., Miguel A. Estrada, John M. Thomas, and Michael J. O'Reilly; for the Health Insurance Association of America et al. by Robert N. Weiner and Nancy L. Perkins; for the International Mass Retail Association et al. by Daniel H. Bromberg, Robert J. Verdisco, David F. Zoll, and Donald D. Evans; for the National Association of Manufacturers by Carter G. Phillips, Gene C. Schaerr, Richard D. Bernstein, Stephen B. Kinnaird, Jan S. Amundson, and Quentin Riegel; for the National Conference of Insurance Legislators by Patrick Lynch; for the Product Liability Advisory Council, Inc., by
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