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Pushing For The Injury: Tort Law's Influence In Defining The Constitutional Limitations On Punitive Damage Awards, Jill Wieber Lens

Hofstra Law Review

The limitations on a punitive damage award depend on the conception of punitive damages. Is it a private law remedy, limited to resolving the dispute between the parties? Or is it a public law remedy, capable of addressing public harm and achieving public good? The Supreme Court has not wavered from public law ideas of punitive damages - that the damages serve the state’s interests and are similar to criminal punishments. At the same time, the Court has focused on the actual injury to the plaintiff in its holdings and prohibited punitive damages from punishing harm to nonparties, indicating that …