Noland Law Firm, LLC. argues the Constintutionality of Missouri’s Punitive Damages Cap in Front of Missouri Supreme Court

Noland Law Firm attorney Douglass F. Noland, argued the constitutionality of Missouri’s cap on punitive damages before the Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday, October 2, 2013. The case brought before the Supreme Court was Lillian Lewellen v. Chad Franklin and Chad Franklin National Auto Sales North, SC92871. The appeal follows a $4 Million jury verdict against Chad Franklin and his dealership.

Lewellen was awarded $25,000 in actual damages on claims of fraudulent misrepresentation against Franklin, plus punitive damages of $1 million. However, the punitive damages were reduced to $500.000 by a state statute that limits punitive damages to five times the amount of the plaintiff’s actual damages or $500,000, whichever is greater. Mr. Noland argued that fraudulent misrepresentation stemmed from the common law and thus “[t]he Legislature cannot change what it did not create.”