James K. Lee v. Michael Edwards

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

• holding that where compensatory damages are in actuality nominal “a much higher ratio can be contemplated while maintaining normal respiration.”
• holding that, when compensatory damages are nominal, “a much higher ratio [of punitive damages to compensatory damages] can be contemplated”
• holding that, when compensatory damages are nominal, ‘a much higher ratio [of punitive damages to compensatory damages] can be contemplated’
• holding that “the costs of litigation to vindicate rights is an appropriate element to consider in justifying a punitive damages award”
• recognizing that punitive damages seek to deter and that deterrence is “directly related” to whether the defendant is able to pay
• noting that a punitive damages award over 500 times greater than a compensatory damages award could be reasonable where the compensatory damages are nominal

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).