''Honda Motor Company v. Oberg'', 512 U.S. 415 (1994), was a
United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that an
amendment to the
Oregon state constitution disallowing
judicial review of the size of
punitive damages was a violation of
due process
Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pers ...
.
Decision
In a
products liability action,
Honda was found
liable
In law, liable means "responsible or answerable in law; legally obligated". Legal liability concerns both civil law and criminal law and can arise from various areas of law, such as contracts, torts, taxes, or fines given by government agencie ...
for injuries received by the plaintiff in an
ATV
ATV may refer to:
Broadcasting
* Amateur television
*Analog television
Television stations and companies
* Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra
* ATV (Armenia)
* ATV (Aruba), NBC affiliate
* ATV (Australian TV station), Melbourne
* ATV (Austria)
* AT ...
accident. Honda was liable for a $5 million punitive damage award, and both the state appellate court and the
Oregon Supreme Court declined to review the award for excessiveness based on an amendment to the Oregon constitution. The Supreme Court of United States held that the amendment to the Oregon constitution violated due process. The Court held that judicial review of punitive damage awards for excessiveness was a long-standing
common law tradition that was critical in protecting against arbitrary deprivations of property, and that Oregon had not instituted a substitute procedure to maintain these protections.
[Varat, p. 358]
See also
* ''
Geier v. American Honda Motor Company''
*
List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 512
This is a list of all the United States Supreme Court cases from volume 512 of the ''United States Reports
The ''United States Reports'' () are the official record ( law reports) of the Supreme Court of the United States. They include rulings, ...
References
External links
*
{{Honda
United States Supreme Court cases
1994 in United States case law
United States tort case law
ATVs
Honda
United States Supreme Court cases of the Rehnquist Court