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Bmw Of North America V. Gore: A Misplaced Guide For Punitive Damage Awards, Michelle J. Carey

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This casenote examines the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in BMW v. Gore, in which the Court struck down a jury award of punitive damages as being unreasonably large in violation of substantive due process. This Note traces the history of challenges to punitive damage awards through Supreme Court cases, including BMW v. Gore. It then analyzes BMW v. Gore, particularly the Court's misguided attempt at providing a guide for punitive damage awards and the dismal implications from the Court's actions. It concludes that the better approach for the Court to have taken would have been to focus on procedural due …