A New York Court Holds No Punitive Damages for Bedbugs

According to the New York Law Journal, a New York trial judge found that a lawsuit over bedbugs could not include a claim for punitive damages because the bugs were merely a nuisance. However, the court let go forward the negligence claims of two Maryland tourists for bites they sustained during a two-night stay at the theater district’s Milford Plaza. In holding that plaintiffs could not seek punitive damages, the court had to distinguish a Judge Posner 7th Circuit opinion which had upheld a significant punitive damage award for bedbugs.