Court Opinion

ID: 9508729
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-06 21:37:08.168027+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:07:37.020983
License: Public Domain

MR. JUSTICE SHEEHY,
in special concurrence:
This case demonstrates how silly the results can be when the legislature, in the guise of “tort reform” interjects itself in matters that are properly in the province of the courts. In my opinion, the District Court was measurably conservative in assessing punitive damages against a company that took advantage of the ill and the elderly, and violated our state’s insurance laws. It is safe to predict that punitive damages awards will be larger in the future because of the rites of passage now required by the legislature to be followed. The notion that torts can be handled in the legislative halls instead of in courts at law is prevalent now, and unfortunately it will keep muddying the legal waters.