Opinion ID: 2570318
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Comparable Civil Penalties

Text: The third guidepost is less useful in a case like this one, where plaintiff prevailed only on a cause of action involving common law tort duties that do not lend themselves to a comparison with statutory penalties ( Continental Trend Resources v. OXY USA, Inc., supra, 101 F.3d at p. 641), than in a case where the tort duty closely parallels a statutory duty for breach of which a penalty is provided. The parties have not drawn our attention to any specific statutory civil penalties for promissory fraud in a business transaction, though defendant cites Business and Professions Code section 17206, allowing a $2,500 penalty for unfair competition (which, as the lower court noted, does not necessarily involve fraudulent acts). The Court of Appeal, in turn, cited provisions providing for treble fines or damages for fraudulent or deceptive acts in other contexts (e.g., Civ.Code, §§ 3345 [deceptive practices causing economic injury to disabled or senior persons], 1947.10 [fraudulent eviction in municipality with rent controls]), as well as statutes criminalizing theft by fraud (Pen.Code, §§ 182, subd. (a)(4), 484, subd. (a); see also id., § 672 [fine of $1,000 for misdemeanor and $10,000 for felony]). [8] While comparison to these statutory penalties cannot tell us precisely how large an award would be constitutional, it clearly does not tend to support the present award of $1.7 million dollars in punitive damages, a sum 340 times the financial harm defendant's fraud caused plaintiff.