Opinion ID: 1874255
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Hammond Hearing

Text: The second consideration by the Court in Haslip concerned an evaluation of the post-trial procedures established in our case of Hammond v. City of Gadsden, supra. The record indicates that the post-trial Hammond -type hearing in this case was preceded by extensive briefing by the parties. There is no doubt that the trial court considered the factors enumerated in Green Oil Co., supra, at 223-24: (1) the relationship between the punitive damages and the harm that could result from the defendant's conduct and the actual harm that resulted, (2) the degree of reprehensibility of the defendant's conduct, (3) the profit to the defendant by the wrongful conduct, (4) the financial position of the defendant, (5) the costs of litigation, (6) the imposition of criminal sanctions, and (7) the existence of other civil actions under similar circumstances. The record further indicates that the parties had the opportunity to present evidence with respect to these factors for the trial court's additional consideration, but there is no indication that any significant additional evidence was presented. The record is plain that the trial court considered these factors in its review of the jury award from its own unique position of observer of all of the formal aspects of the case. Based on its view of the proceedings, the parties, and the jury, and in light of the factors set out in Hammond and Green Oil Co., the trial court determined that the jury verdict of $5,000,000 was excessive and required a remittitur to one-tenth of that amount. In its Hammond order, the trial court followed this basic guideline: Punitive damages should not exceed an amount necessary to accomplish society's goals of punishment and deterrence, but the degree of punishment necessary to achieve those goals changes with each case. Central Alabama Elec. Co-Op. v. Tapley, 546 So.2d 371, 377 (Ala.1989). Accordingly, we conclude that the Hammond hearing in the instant case satisfied the requirement in Haslip that the trial court conduct a meaningful and adequate review of the jury's award.