Private Law Theory

Abstract:
The concept of the punitive damage class has a long and dubious lineage, extending back more than thirty years. During the 1980s and, especially, the 1990s the concept of the punitive damage class excited plaintiffs’ attorneys, inspired countless academics, riveted at least a few 846 defense counsel, and caught the attention of a scattering of federal judges. Nonetheless, certification of actual punitive damage classes has proved elusive, as court after court refused to give their imprimatur to the punitive damage class. In truth, the history of the punitive damage class has been one of repeated repudiation, punctuated by scattered, anomalous success (a point which its advocates have difficulty acknowledging).

Mullenix, Linda S., Nine Lives: The Punitive Damage Class Symposium: ‘Aggregate Litigation Since Ortiz v. Fibreboard‘ (2010). Kansas Law Review, Vol. 58, No. 845, (2010).

First posted 2012-11-17 17:51:49