Court Opinion

ID: 9775963
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 19:14:09.695993+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:03:39.534841
License: Public Domain

EDELMAN, Justice,
concurring.
I agree that the majority opinion is a correct disposition of the case under prevailing law. However, I believe that this ease illustrates an inequity in our law of comparative responsibility in that a defendant suffers a greater consequence for gross negligence than ordinary negligence, but a plaintiff does not. Where both the defendant and plaintiff are grossly negligent in causing the plaintiffs injury, an award of punitive damages punishes the gross negligence of the defendant while, in effect, rewarding that of the plaintiff. This might be remedied by allowing evidence of gross negligence by a plaintiff to be formally considered in both awarding and reviewing awards of punitive damages.