Punitive Damages: Strategies for Trial and Appeal; Statutory and Constitutional Boundaries
Recording of a 90-minute CLE webinar with Q&A
This CLE course will equip both plaintiffs and defendants with the tools necessary to handle punitive damages issues on trial and appeal. The spectre of punitive damages looms large when injury is involved. Counsel must understand both the applicable substantive state law as well as the constitutional backdrop and must develop effective trial strategies to persuade juries either that a serious wrong must be righted or that no punishment is warranted.
Outline
- Standard to recover punitive damages
- Intentional/wilfull/malicious
- Recklessness/indifference
- Procedural issues
- Timing for discovery
- Bifurcation
- Collection
- Insurance
- Payment to state
- Constitutionality
- Appeals
Benefits
The panel will review these and other topics on the subject:
- Understanding similarities and differences in state punitive damages statutes and common law
- Tactical issues, such as whether to seek bifurcation, whether to introduce evidence of other penalties the defendant has paid for the same conduct, whether to raise an advice-of-counsel defense, etc.
- Evidentiary issues
- Making and preserving the record for appeal
- Appreciation of collection issues, particularly insurance
Faculty
Scott A. Chesin
Partner
Mayer Brown
Mr. Chesin is a partner in the Supreme Court & Appellate practice in Mayer Brown's New York office. He handles... | Read More
Mr. Chesin is a partner in the Supreme Court & Appellate practice in Mayer Brown's New York office. He handles appeals in state and federal courts throughout the country, and he regularly partners with trial lawyers at Mayer Brown and at other firms to develop legal strategies applicable to all phases of litigation: pre-trial, trial, post-trial, and appeal. Scott has experience litigating a wide variety of substantive legal issues; his particular areas of interest are product liability defense, punitive damages, and criminal defense. According to Legal 500, Scott is an "appellate specialist" who comes "highly recommended" by clients. In 2014, he was appointed by the Second Circuit to its Criminal Justice Act panel, through which he accepts court appointments to represent indigent criminal defendants on appeal.
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Miriam R. Nemetz
Partner
Mayer Brown
Ms. Nemetz is a member of the Supreme Court & Appellate practice in Mayer Brown’s Washington DC office. She... | Read More
Ms. Nemetz is a member of the Supreme Court & Appellate practice in Mayer Brown’s Washington DC office. She has briefed dozens of cases in state and federal appellate courts and the US Supreme Court, and has argued before the US Courts of Appeals for the DC, Second, Sixth and Seventh Circuits. Ms. Nemetz handles a wide variety of appeals but has developed specialized expertise in cases involving punitive damages and employment-related claims. Since 2009, she has been selected by her peers every year for inclusion in The Best Lawyers In America in the specialty of Appellate Law. Ms. Nemetz is a co-author of Mayer Brown's Federal Appellate Practice treatise, published by BNA Books in December 2008.
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Evan M. Tager
Partner
Mayer Brown
Mr. Tager is a member of the firm’s Supreme Court & Appellate and Class Action practices, recognized by... | Read More
Mr. Tager is a member of the firm’s Supreme Court & Appellate and Class Action practices, recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a National Litigation Star and identified by Chambers USA and Legal 500 as one of America’s leading appellate lawyers for multiple years running. He has been integrally involved in a range of issues of paramount importance to the business community, including punitive damages, class-certification standards, admissibility of expert testimony, and enforceability of arbitration agreements. Mr. Tager also has handled dozens of cases involving claims against railroads arising out of workplace injuries, grade crossing accidents, derailments, and injuries to trespassers.
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