California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Gourley v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 227 Cal.App.3d 1099, 265 Cal.Rptr. 634 (Cal. App. 1990):
In making our determination, we look to three factors: (1) whether the amount of the award reasonably reflects the reprehensibility of the defendant's conduct; (2) whether the punitive damages bear a reasonable relationship to the actual damages; and (3) whether the award will have a deterrent [227 Cal.App.3d 1109] effect without crippling the financial existence of the defendant. (Neal v. Farmers Ins. Exchange, supra, 21 Cal.3d 910, 928, 148 Cal.Rptr. 389, 582 P.2d 980.) We examine these factors.
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