Moses v. Scheibel

How courts have described this case

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

• holding that state and political subdivisions are not subject to punitive damages
• upholding verdict for manslaughter in second degree and criminally negligent homicide for acts leading to death of mental hospital patient
• exemplary power is largely proportionate to the financial sacrifice it means for the malefactor; this would lead to an anomolous result that the taxing power of municipalities would be considered in arriving at proper damages
• exemplary power is largely proportionate to the financial sacrifice it means for the malefactor; this would lead to an anomolous result that the taxing power of municipalities would be considered in arriving at proper damages
• punitive damages “may only be awarded for exceptional misconduct which transgresses mere negligence . . . .”
• “Although many statutory and other inroads upon the doctrine of sovereign immunity have been made, the levying of punitive damages against a public entity is not favored, since to do so would impose an unjust burden upon the innocent taxpayer without directly punishing the wrongdoer”

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).