American justice is a fucking farce unless you commit it against the rich
Since 1987, Chapter 41 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, passed by the Texas Legislature, has limited punitive damages in almost any scenario (exceptions apply for serious felonies and white collar crime) to:
“Exemplary damages awarded against a defendant may not exceed an amount equal to the greater of: (1)(A) two times the amount of economic damages; plus (B) an amount equal to any noneconomic damages found by the jury, not to exceed $750,000; or (2) $200,000.”
Here, the damages of $4.1 MM are entirely non-economic. The $750,000 cap applies. The total judgment will be in the neighborhood of $4.11MM plus $750,000, or $4.865MM.
The jury is not told there’s a cap. These jurors found an amount they considered just, but the Texas Legislature has decided that tortfeasors must be protected from ’runaway juries’. I bet these jurors will be sorely disappointed when they discover this. This is cigarette money to Mr. Jones: no punishment for the most egregious conduct coupled with glaring contempt for the Rule of Law.
Mr. Jones continues to laugh all the way to the bank, over and over and over. Appalling. This is how it works since Republicans gained control of the Legislature, and amply rewarded the business and insurance interest whose money fueled their election victories. And other aspects of the civil justice system have been watered down by successive ‘tort reform’ Legislatures, and a state supreme court that has been 9 Republicans, 0 Democrats since the early 90s.
Many states have similar caps passed by their legislatures.