May 20, 2003

Party Must Attack Punitives Proof at Trial or Waives Right to Do It Later

Focus Column - Litigation - By David Martinez - Defense practitioners navigating California's state courts are familiar with the state Supreme Court's holding in Adams v. Murakami , 54 Cal.3d 10 (1991), which gives defendants a nonwaivable right to post-verdict judicial review of a punitive-damages award. In a recent decision with constitutional implications, however, a divided 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel undercut the Adam rule's viability in federal court by holding that it must yield