Punitive damages

[Chris Alger]

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"that woman who got something"

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So far, I doubt she's received anything. Monster punitive damages awards get a lot of publicity, but they are routinely appealed and almost as routinely gutted on appeal. The publicity surrounds the jury's verdict at trial. The defendant corporation then posts a bond to secure the award so that they can keep the dough while it's up on appeal. Two or three years later, the appellate court vacates the whole award unless the plainitff agree to accept a greatly reduced award, through an order known as "remittur." This grabs fewer headlines.