Court Opinion

ID: 9617847
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 05:02:10.460225+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:04:17.885616
License: Public Domain

Smith, Justice,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent as to Division 2 and the judgment. Certainly, the plaintiff in this case is entitled to present the question of compensatory damages before a jury. The purpose of exemplary damages in Georgia, however, as the majority notes, is to deter the defendant from future wrongdoing. Under the facts of this case, the defendant should not be hit with exemplary damages no matter what the jury charge said. The second certified question should be answered in the negative.
The defendant stopped production of asbestos, as have the other manufacturers of asbestos. For the majority of the time that the defendant manufactured asbestos, no one was aware of the dangers inherent in exposure to asbestos. The imposition of punitive damages in this case could only serve to deter the defendant from future wrongdoing by destroying the defendant financially.
While a stinging blow might serve well to beat caution into a reckless party, this case could set off a chain of events that would amount to the stoning to death of the defendant. We do not impose the death penalty upon individuals in tort cases in Georgia. Except in instances of the most heinous intentional act, we should not sanction the death penalty in like cases against corporate defendants.