recognizing that party can raise new argument on appeal in support of properly preserved claim, but rejecting suggestion that "a litigant could add new constitutional claims as he went along, simply because he had `consistently argued' that a challenged [action] was unconstitutional"
How later courts described this case
- recognizing that party can raise new argument on appeal in support of properly preserved claim, but rejecting suggestion that "a litigant could add new constitutional claims as he went along, simply because he had `consistently argued' that a challenged [action] was unconstitutional"
- explaining that the decision to deviate from the general rule that an appellate court does not consider issues not raised before the trial court is “left primarily to the discretion of the courts of appeals, to be exercised on the facts of individual cases” (citation omitted)
- concluding that a punitive to compensatory damages ratio of “1:1 ... is a fair upper limit in ... maritime cases” (emphasis added)
- holding that under maritime law the maximum award of punitive damages allowed is an amount equal to the award of compensatory damages
Written by the judges who cited it.
Later courts went against this
Limited by Brown v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 113 F. Supp. 3d 1233 (2015)
Further, the Supreme Court limited its holding to the facts of the case, see id, at 513, 128 S.Ct. 2605 (stating that “a 1:1 ratio is a fair upper limit in such maritime cases”) (emphasis added), and did not disturb its holding in State Farm, which emphasized that the appropriate ratio must be determined by the facts and circumstances of the defendant’s conduct and the plaintiffs injury.
The opinion
Justice Scalia, with whom Justice Thomas joins,
concurring.
I join the opinion of the Court, including the portions that refer to constitutional limits that prior opinions have imposed upon punitive damages. While I agree with the argumentation based upon those prior holdings, I continue to believe the holdings were in error. See State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co. v. Campbell, 538 U. S. 408, 429 (2003) (Scalia, J., dissenting).