(University of Oregon School of Law, 2011) Trickett, Rachel D.
Over the last few decades, states have responded to the controversy
of punitive damage windfalls by implementing numerous statutory
schemes that include caps on punitive damages and stringent burdens
of proof. Oregon’s split-recovery scheme, while effectively curbing
the problem of windfalls by allocating a portion to the State, has
resulted in a new controversy. The Supreme Court of Oregon’s
resolution of this controversy will have far-reaching effects.
However, the limits of the Oregon Legislature to grant the State
control over a plaintiff’s claim, the ample protections already
provided for the State’s interest in an ultimate award of punitive
damages, and the impracticalities of changing long-held principles of
the American judicial system all indicate that the parties to a case
need not obtain the State’s approval prior to settling a case.
