Santa Barbara Jury Awards $2.3 Million in Punitive Damages

Noozhawk.com reports that a Santa Barbara jury has awarded $14 million in compensatory damages and $2.3 million in punitive damages to the parents of a 4-year-old boy who drowned in a swimming pool at a summer camp operated by the defendants. Counsel for one of the defendants, Cal-West, stated that the punitive damages award was improper because the drowning was accidental. Presumably, he intends to raise that argument in post-trial motions and on appeal.