Florida AppellateCourt Upholds $31 Million Punitive Damages Award Against Owens Corning Fiberglas
In January of 1997, a jury in Palm Beach County, Florida awarded a mesothelioma plaintiff, Deward Ballard, compensatory damages in the amount of $1.8 million and punitive damages in the amount of $31 million. The award was against Owens Corning Fiberglas, manufacturer and distributer of Kaylo pipe covering and block insulation.
OCF appealed. On April 29, 1998, the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Florida upheld the jury's award. OCF argued that the punitive award was "unconstitutionally excessive."
The Court responded as follows:
"While the presumptively excessive punitive damages award in this case raises our judicial eyebrows at first glance, it does not shock our judicial conscience given the instant facts. The evidence at trial showed that Owens Corning knew of the deleterious health risks associated with Kaylo for decades, yet consciously made a purely economic decision not to warn its consumers, change its process, remove the asbestos, and/or replace the fibers with readily available, asbestos-free fibers. . . "
Owens Corning Fiberglas Corporation vs. Deward Ballard, Case No. 97-1514 and 97-1684, Dist Ct. App. Fla, 4th Dist (April 29, 1998), p. 3.
*** POSTED MAY 19, 1998 ***