Home > Great American Court Cases > BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore

Legal Citation: 517 U.S. 559 (1996)

Petitioner
BMW of North America, Inc.

Respondent
Dr. Ira Gore, Jr.

Petitioner's Claim
That a $2 million punitive damages award imposed on it by an Alabama jury was grossly excessive, and violated the company's rights to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Chief Lawyers for Petitioner
Michael C. Quillen, Samuel M. Hill

Chief Lawyers for Respondent
Andrew L. Frey, Evan M. Tager

Justices for the Court
Stephen Breyer, Anthony M. Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor, David H. Souter, John Paul Stevens (writing for the Court)

Justices Dissenting
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, William H. Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
20 May 1996

Decision
That the punitive damages award was grossly...