Grimshaw v. Ford Motor Co.
119 Cal.App.3d 757 (Cal. Ct. App. 1981) Cited 250 times 1 Legal AnalysesUpholding a jury award of punitive damages against Ford for its manufacture of the Pinto, and holding that "punitive damages are recoverable in a nondeliberate or unintentional tort where the defendant's conduct constitutes a conscious disregard of the probability of injury to others"
Taylor v. Superior Court
24 Cal.3d 890 (Cal. 1979) Cited 245 timesIn Taylor, the California Supreme Court examined whether the act of driving while intoxicated constituted malice for the purposes of a CC § 3294 punitive damages award.
G.D. Searle Co. v. Superior Court
49 Cal.App.3d 22 (Cal. Ct. App. 1975) Cited 132 timesIn G.D. Searle Co. v. Superior Court (1975) 49 Cal.App.3d 22 [ 122 Cal.Rptr. 218], the Court of Appeal issued a peremptory writ directing the superior court to sustain a demurrer in part because of the conclusory allegations relating to punitive damages.
Turman v. Turning Point of Central California, Inc.
191 Cal.App.4th 53 (Cal. Ct. App. 2010) Cited 43 times 1 Legal AnalysesRequiring facts pled in the complaint to "rise to the level of malice, oppression or fraud necessary under Civil Code section 3294 to state a claim for punitive damages"
Schonfeldt v. State of California
61 Cal.App.4th 1462 (Cal. Ct. App. 1998) Cited 44 timesIn Schonfeldt, a teenager climbed a “freeway fence” and ran across a freeway, where he was struck by a truck and severely injured.
Grieves v. Superior Court
157 Cal.App.3d 159 (Cal. Ct. App. 1984) Cited 43 timesDirecting trial court to grant motion to strike punitive damages where plaintiff alleged only negligence and no intentional conduct
Brousseau v. Jarrett
73 Cal.App.3d 864 (Cal. Ct. App. 1977) Cited 38 timesHolding that the "conclusory characterization of defendant's conduct as intentional, willful and fraudulent" was "patently insufficient" to support the recovery of punitive damages
Penner v. Falk
153 Cal.App.3d 858 (Cal. Ct. App. 1984) Cited 9 timesIn Penner v. Falk (1984) 153 Cal.App.3d 858, 866, cited by Ferguson as a leading case in this area, a court upheld a negligence action against a landlord where two intruders robbed a tenant in a common hallway.
Rule 5 - Serving and Filing Pleadings and Other Papers
Fed. R. Civ. P. 5 Cited 23,660 times 16 Legal AnalysesProviding for service via CM/ECF Systems
Section 3294 - When damages recoverable for sake of example and by way of punishment; employer liability for acts of employee; death from homicide
Cal. Civ. Code § 3294 Cited 2,881 times 11 Legal AnalysesStating plaintiff may recover punitive damages "in addition to the actual damages"