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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Molenaar v. United Cattle Co., 553 N.W.2d 424 (1996)

Citation
Molenaar v. United Cattle Co., 553 N.W.2d 424 (1996)
Parent Document
Molenaar v. United Cattle Co., 553 N.W.2d 424 (1996)
Jurisdiction
Minnesota (state)
Effective Date
1996-07-30

Other Sections in This Document (93)

Full Text

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The school district argues that Eisert only applies to strict liability claims, and, therefore does not apply to this case because the school district, brought claims *432under liability theories beyond strict products liability. We do not find this to be a sufficient distinguishing factor to limit the application of our reasoning in Eisert. As in Eisert, the school district here only suffered property damage. The remedy of punitive damages concerns the “vital state interest of protecting persons against personal injury.” Gryc v. Dayton-Hudson Corp., 297 N.W.2d 727 (Minn.), cert. denied sub. nom. Riegel Textile Corp. v. Gryc, 449 U.S. 921, 101 S.Ct. 320, 66 L.Ed.2d 149 (1980). We believe now as we did in Ei-sert that denying punitive damages where a plaintiff only suffers property damage reflects the greater importance society places on protecting people. We reverse the award of punitive damages in its entirety. Id.