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Punitive Damages

Mike Parson
Jul 1, 2020

Parson signs punitive damages, MMPA bill

Gov. Mike Parson has signed a bill overhauling Missouri’s provisions for punitive damages and setting limits on the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.

Jun 9, 2020

Appeals court reinstates punitive damages for Jackson County deputy

The court has reinstated a $300,000 punitive damages award for a Jackson County sheriff’s deputy in his sexual harassment and retaliation suit against his employer.

Missouri State Capitol
May 12, 2020

Punitive damages bill sent to governor

A bill that overhauls Missouri’s provisions for punitive damages and sets limits on the Merchandising Practices Act is headed to the governor.

Apr 20, 2020

Employment: Race Discrimination-Punitive Damages-“Me Too” Evidence

(1)Where defendant employer argued that a trial court erred when it refused to cap the $7.2 million punitive damages award in a race-discrimination case, the court did not err in refusing to apply the cap because that would be an unconstitutional retrospective application of laws, and the court also did not abuse its discretion when […]

Gavel
Mar 5, 2020

Discrimination case settles while on high court review

An employment case that resulted in a $3.7 million judgment has ended in a settlement before the Missouri Supreme Court could rule on it. Plaintiff Gary Gentry won more than $120,000 in compensatory damages and more than $10 million in punitive damages against his former employer, the pest-control company Orkin. The 2016 verdict was reduced […]

Missouri State Capitol
Feb 26, 2020

Punitive damages bill passes under cover of filibuster

A 20-hour filibuster halted an asbestos bill in the Missouri Senate, but senators have advanced separate legislation that changes punitive damages. Following a debate that ran from mid-afternoon on Feb. 25 until 10:30 the following morning, lawmakers put aside the asbestos bill. The Senate then immediately turned to the punitive damages bill, which lawmakers and […]

Missouri State Capitol
Jan 10, 2020

Lawmakers’ 2020 tort priorities draw on past sessions’ work

As lawmakers returned to Jefferson City on Jan. 8, the Republican majority appeared ready to pick up where last year’s efforts to change the state’s tort laws left off. Among the bills expected to get a major push this year is an overhaul of the rules for awarding punitive damages. “Punitives seems to be at […]

Dec 26, 2019

Consumer Law: MMPA-Punitive Damages-Attorneys’ Fees

Where appellants, who brought an action against their landlord alleging damages from a bedbug infestation, challenged the denial of their motion to amend the judgment to award them attorneys’ fees on their claims under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, the trial court abused its discretion in denying the motion, so the motion is reversed and […]

Jul 29, 2019

Employment: Punitive Damages-Credit-Damages Cap

Where the Department of Corrections challenged a jury verdict against it in a retaliation case, the trial court did not err in denying the department’s motion for a credit for the punitive damages awarded in a prior case because the punitive-damages award in this case was not based on the same conduct that the award […]

Apr 22, 2019

Environmental Law: CERCLA-Joint and Several Liability for Response-Punitive Damages

  Defendants owned buildings that they were ordered to remediate. Without notifying the EPA, defendants sold the buildings without informing the buyer that the buildings were contaminated and subject to an EPA order. The buyer tore down the buildings and stored them in an open field that later became contaminated. The district court found that […]

Mar 29, 2019

Punitive damages bill faces tough road in Senate

State lawmakers returned from their mid-session break last week to inconclusive debates on changing the state’s laws on punitive damages. The Missouri Senate debated a bill on March 27 that would make it more difficult for plaintiffs to claim and win punitive damages. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Bill White, R-Joplin and an attorney, characterized it […]

Mar 25, 2019

Employment Law: Hostile Work Environment-Racial Discrimination-Punitive Damages

  Plaintiff filed suit against defendant, his employer, claiming a hostile work environment created by his manager’s racist comments and racially motivated decision-making. The jury found for plaintiff, awarding nominal compensatory damages and $250,000 in punitive damages to him. On appeal, defendant argued plaintiff’s claim was time-barred and that he presented insufficient evidence to [...]

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