Opinion ID: 2546274
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: State plaintiff

Text: The reason the State should not be subject to the cap is self-evident. It sues under the MMPA not for individual damages to itself but in its parens patrie role on behalf of its citizens. The legislature rationally could conclude that, because the State represents the interests of all citizens in seeking relief, an exemption from the punitive damages cap would help ensure that the State could obtain an award of sufficient size to punish and deter defendants for their conduct as to the many Missouri citizens the attorney general filed suit to protect. By contrast, the Overbeys are sue only on their own behalf and are not entitled to recover punitive damages based on alleged wrongs done to others. See State Farm, 538 U.S. at 419-23, 123 S.Ct. 1513; Philip Morris USA v. Williams, 549 U.S. 346, 356-57, 127 S.Ct. 1057, 166 L.Ed.2d 940 (2007). [7] Accordingly, the legislature had a rational basis for this exception.