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Mississippi judge rules that Legislature can't set cap on damages
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April 28, 2012
Mississippi: Judge Charles Webster, of Mississippi's 11th Judicial District, ruled against the Legislature's cap on how much juries can award for non-economic damages. The state law which limits awards for such damages to $1 million has been in effect since 2004. This is the maximum amount that juries can award for more intangible things such as suffering.
A jury in Coahoma County awarded $6 million in non-economic damages for a child's death in an apartment fire. This case put the state law under the scrutiny of Judge Webster, who ruled that the Legislature does not have the authority to impose such laws. In his ruling, issued on April 20, Webster explained, "The issue is not whether the limits imposed under the statute are reasonable. Rather, the issue is whether the Legislature has the authority to impose any limits, reasonable or not."[1]
A lawsuit addressing the same issue is currently pending before the Mississippi Supreme Court.[1]
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