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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Quigley v. Winter, 598 F.3d 938 (2010)

Citation
Quigley v. Winter, 598 F.3d 938 (2010)
Parent Document
Quigley v. Winter, 598 F.3d 938 (2010)
Effective Date
2010-03-16

Other Sections in This Document (232)

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ii. Ratio Between Punitive Damages and Actual Harm
       The second Gore factor, the ratio between punitive and compensatory damages,
is the “most commonly cited indicium of an unreasonable or excessive punitive
damages award.” Gore, 517 U.S. at 580. Punitive “damages must bear a ‘reasonable
relationship’ to compensatory damages.” Id. What constitutes a “reasonable
relationship” varies from case to case. The Supreme Court “ha[s] consistently rejected
the notion that the constitutional line is marked by a simple mathematical formula,
even one that compares actual and potential damages to the punitive award.” Id. at
582 (citation omitted). The Court explained,