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Torts Keyed to Goldberg
BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore
Citation:
517 U.S. 559 (1996)Facts
Plaintiff purchased a supposedly brand new car made by the defendant. About nine months later, he had the car professionally detailed, and the detailing company advised him that the car had been repainted at some point. Plaintiff sued the defendant, who admitted that the car had indeed been damaged by acid rain and repainted, but that they had a policy of not disclosing such damages if the repair was less than 3 percent of the purchase price. The jury found for the plaintiff, and awarded compensatory damages of $4,000 and punitive damages of $4,000,000. Defendant appeals the punitive damages as excessive.
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