Updating our May 15th entry on punitive damages, "California to follow Indiana's lead?", is an opinion piece today in the Wall Street Journal, page A2, titled "In Search of Cash, California Looks for Take Of Punitive Damages." A quote:
At least eight states currently take a slice of punitive-damages awards. Most let lawyers eat first. Iowa, for instances, takes 75% after lawyers are paid; Alaska and Missouri take 50%. Only Indiana does what Gov. Schwarzenegger proposes, taking its 75% of punitive-damages awards before the lawyer's cut and putting the money in a fund to compensate victims of violent crimes. Last year, an Indiana woman won $100,000 in compensatory damages and $100,000 in punitive damages from her ex-husband after he widely distributed photos of the couple having sex. The state claimed its $75,000. She and her lawyers challenged the constitutionality of the statute. They lost.The link to this article is provided via How Appealing, and it looks like it is a "free feature' rather than limited to paid WSJ subscribers. Posted by Marcia Oddi at May 20, 2004 04:53 PM