It was a big day for Jerome Falk Jr. and punitive damages.
The director of Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin’s litigation department scored wins from the California Supreme Court as well as the U.S. Supreme Court.
Falk represented McKesson in an employment case in which a supervisor at the company made snide remarks and belittled an employee who continually missed work due to diagnosed panic attacks. A Yolo County jury had hit McKesson with more than $3.5 million in compensatory damages and $15 million in punitive damages. In a 5-2 ruling today, the Supreme Court lowered the punitive damages award to $1.9 million.
Also today, the U.S. Supreme Court reportedly rejected Ford Motor Co.’s challenge to punitive damages in an $82.6 million award in an Explorer rollover case. Falk represented the woman, Benetta Buell-Wilson, who was paralyzed from the waist down when she swerved to avoid an object and her 1997 Explorer rolled four and a half times.
“It’s ironic that I’m on either side in one day,” Falk said.
— Kate Moser
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