“It’s a headline-grabbing sum, but it will never come to pass,” said Nora Freeman Engstrom, law professor at Stanford University.
Courts have typically held that punitive damages should be no more than nine times as high as the compensatory damages, Ms. Engstrom said, which in this case, totaled $24 million.
“Trial courts have broad latitude to impose sanctions for improper conduct, particularly when that conduct interferes with courtroom processes,” Ms. Engstrom said.
