Popcorn and Punitive Damages Caps

Ah, the smell of diacetyl in the morning.  The mere sight of this buttery-flavored chemical makes our mouths water.

As we blogged about previously here and here, the wonderful smell this delectable combination of molecules creates has an unfortunate medical side effect – bronciolitis obliterans – otherwise now known as “popcorn lung.”  According to this piece at AboutLawsuits.com, a Baltimore County, Maryland jury recently awarded Brian Hallock, an employee of a popcorn plant owned by McCormick & Co., $5.4 million in a case he brought against Polarome International Inc. for failing to warn of the dangers of inhaling diacetyl.  That award was reduced to $814,500 pursuant to Maryland’s cap on non-economic damages. (Hat tip: Thanks to Professor Bernabe for alerting us to the verdict.).

Speaking of non-economic damages, several states have undergone debates about caps on damages in various tort reform bills in the last legislative year.  Our beloved South Carolina recently passed a tort reform bill which focused on instituting a cap on punitive damages.  You can read more about the Herculean efforts to get this passed, as well as the results, from our friend Brian Comer of South Carolina Product Liability Blog, both here and here.  Tennessee has also sent a new tort reform bill to its governor for signing.  Read about the ins and outs of that soon-to-be-law here.  Hopefully, these new laws will result in more court-instituted reductions on plaintiff-happy jury awards.  To be continued.