The Daily News of Memphis reports that the Tennessee Court of Appeals has vacated a $28 million punitive damages award based on allegedly negligent care provided by a nursing home.
This case involved multiple defendants who got whacked for a collective award of $1.9 million in compensatory damages and $28 million in punitive damages. The Court of Appeals affirmed the finding of liability against one of the defendants, but found insufficient evidence to support liability as to the others. The court then concluded that the punitive damages must be retried even as to the one defendant that was properly held liable, because the amount of the award was based partly on the conduct of the other defendants.
