The National Law Review reports on a recent Sixth Circuit opinion striking down a Tennessee statute that limited punitive damages to the greater of $500,000 or two times compensatory damages. The Sixth Circuit’s opinion holds that the Tennessee constitution guarantees a right to a jury trial on the amount of punitive damages, and that a cap on the amount is inconsistent with that right.
Courts around the country have reached different results on this issue. For example, a 2018 federal district court decision rejected the same argument under North Carolina law.
