In our previous report about an $18.5 million punitive damages award against Boy Scouts of America, we predicted that the case would be difficult to settle because of (1) an Oregon statute providing that 60 percent of punitive damages go to the state, and (2) Oregon’s past practice of insisting on getting its cut, regardless of any settlement agreement between the parties.
The case wasn’t so difficult to settle after all. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports that the case has settled. The amount of the settlement is confidential, except for the fact that Oregon agreed to accept $2.2 million in punitive damages, much less than its statutory share of the verdict amount.
