COOPER INDUSTRIES, INC. v. LEATHERMAN TOOL GROUP, INC.

No. 99-2035.

532 U.S. 424 (2001)

COOPER INDUSTRIES, INC. v. LEATHERMAN TOOL GROUP, INC.

United States Supreme Court.

Decided May 14, 2001.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

William Bradford Reynolds argued the cause for petitioner. With him on the briefs was Bradley J. Schlozman.

Jonathan S. Massey argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief were Laurence H. Tribe, J. Peter Staples, and Thomas C. Goldstein.*

Stevens, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Rehnquist, C. J., and O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas, and Breyer, JJ., joined. Thomas, J., filed a concurring opinion, p. 443. Scalia, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, p. 443. Ginsburg, J., filed a dissenting opinion, p. 444.


Justice Stevens, delivered the opinion of the Court.

A jury found petitioner guilty of unfair competition and awarded respondent $50,000 in compensatory damages and $4.5 million in punitive damages. The District Court held that the punitive damages award did not violate the Federal Constitution. The Court of Appeals concluded that "the district court did not abuse its discretion in declining to reduce the amount of punitive damages." App. to Pet. for Cert. 4a. The...

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