Jones, Skelton & Hochuli partner Eileen GilBride and team have been highlighted in a pair of publications for the successful defense of Swift Transportation in a recent case out of the Arizona Supreme Court.
Law360 and Claims Journal both covered the long-awaited decision in Swift v. Carman, a case that ultimately clarified the standard for seeking punitive damages. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the defendant did not engage with an “evil mind.”
“With this decision, the court has solidified the law of punitive damages where it was meant to be – as punishment for truly egregious behavior, not as additional compensation for negligent behavior,” GilBride told Law360.
“As the court noted, in a negligence case, it is highly unlikely that someone who is simply negligent is going to have intended to cause harm or have been motivated by spite,” GilBride told the Claims Journal.
JSH partners Phillip Stanfield and Clarice Spicker assisted in the case. To learn more about the case, read our law alert. The Law360 article can be accessed with a subscription here and the Claims Journal article can be found here.