Insurance
May 12, 2010
Calculation of the 'PD Ratio'
Los Angeles Superior Court judge Rex Heeseman addresses the topic of calculating the punitive damages ratio.
Rex Heeseman
JAMS
555 W 5th St Fl 32
Los Angeles , CA 90013-1055
Phone: (213) 253-9772
Fax: (213) 620-0100
Email: rheeseman@jamsdar.com
Stanford Univ Law School
Rex Heeseman retired from the Los Angeles Count Superior Court bench in 2014. He is at JAMS, Los Angeles. Besides speaking at various MCLE programs, he co-authors The Rutter Group's practice guide on "Insurance Litigation." From 2002 to 2015, he was an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School.
Utilization of the "ratio" (aka the "multiplier") started in earnest with State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Campbell, 538 U.S. 408 (2003) (e.g., a punitive damages "award of more than four times the amount of compensatory damages might be close to the line of constitutional impropriety"). The most recent decision in California addressing this topic is Amerigraphics Inc. v. Mercury Casualty Co. (2010) Cal.App. LEXIS 377, 2010 DJDAR 4326; as explained below, it implemented a ...
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