Opinion ID: 3049898
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Reasonable Relationship Instruction and

Text: Compensatory Damages [5] Reasonable relationship. We reject Ford’s argument that due process requires the district court to instruct the jury that any award of punitive damages must bear a reasonable relationship to compensatory damages. See Hilao v. Estate of Marcos, 103 F.3d 767, 781-82 (9th Cir. 1996) (holding that procedural due process does not require the jury to be instructed that “a reasonable relationship must exist between the amounts of compensatory and exemplary damages”). Ford’s argument that Hilao was implicitly overruled by State Farm and Williams is not persuasive. In State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell, 538 U.S. 408 (2003), the Supreme Court held that “courts must ensure that the measure of punishment is both reasonable and proportionate to the amount of harm to the plaintiff and the general damages recovered.” Id. at 426. But nothing in State Farm precludes courts from ensuring proportionality through a post-verdict review, rather than with pre-verdict jury instructions. [6] Similarly, Williams’ holding is inapposite in the context of the reasonable relationship inquiry. Williams mandates that juries receive proper instruction on harm to nonparties, an instruction that is essential if the jury is to calculate the proper amount of punitive damages. But the reasonable relationship inquiry is markedly different from the jury’s determination of a specific amount of punitive damages; its purpose is to aid in ascertaining the constitutional ceiling. Unlike the initial damage calculation, determining the constitutional ceiling on a punitive damage award is a question of law, properly reserved for the court. See Bains LLC v. Arco Prods. Co., 405 F.3d 764, 777 (9th Cir. 2005) (holding that “[t]he [constitutional] level of punitive damages is not a finding of ‘fact’ that must be determined by the jury; it may be determined de novo by the court”). Although states are certainly free to incorporate the reasonable relationship concept into jury instructions, see Morgan v. Woessner, 997 F.2d 1244, 1256-57 n.13 (9th 11012 WHITE v. FORD MOTOR CO. Cir. 1993), it is also constitutionally permissible for a district court to delay the reasonable relationship inquiry until the judge’s post-verdict review. Nevada has taken the latter course. See Bongiovi v. Sullivan, 138 P.3d 433, 452 (Nev. 2006) (adopting State Farm guideposts for post-verdict judicial review for excessiveness under state law). Compare Nev. J.I. 10.20, with Cal. BAJI 14.71 (including Nevada’s identically worded reprehensibility and deterrence factors but adding a reasonable relationship factor). [7] Compensatory damages. Although we hold that Ford was not entitled to a reasonable relationship instruction under either the Due Process Clause or Nevada law, we nevertheless conclude that the amount of compensatory damages is relevant to the amount of punitive damages. In accordance with Nevada law, the jury was properly instructed to consider two factors in determining the amount of punitive damages: “the reprehensibility of the conduct of the defendant” and “the amount of punitive damages which will have a deterrent effect on the defendant in light of the defendant’s financial condition.” Nev. J.I. 10.20. In a typical case, the same jury would award both compensatory and punitive damages. Here, because of this case’s unique procedural history, the jury empaneled to award punitive damages was unfamiliar with the original jury’s verdict and the amount of compensatory damages it awarded. Without knowing the amount of those damages, the punitive damages jury could not have come to a reasoned conclusion as to the amount of additional damages necessary to deter Ford from similar conduct in the future. The district court’s withholding of that information was, therefore, an abuse of discretion. [8] On remand the district court must instruct the jury that the Whites have been awarded $2,305,435 in compensation for the death of their son. Consonant with Nevada law, the district court in formulating its instruction should ensure that the jury is not left with the erroneous impression that its punitive damages award must be proportional to the compensatory WHITE v. FORD MOTOR CO. 11013 award. With that caveat, we leave to the district court’s discretion the precise wording of the instruction, as well as the decision of what information, if any, other than the bare award amount must be provided to the jury.