Gasperini v. Center for Humanities, Inc.

Gasperini v. Center for Humanities
Argued April 16, 1996
Decided June 24, 1996
Full case nameWilliam Gasperini v. Center for Humanities, Inc.
Citations518 U.S. 415 (more)
116 S. Ct. 2211; 135 L. Ed. 2d 659; 1996 U.S. LEXIS 4051
Case history
PriorJudgment for plaintiff, S.D.N.Y.; vacated and remanded for new trial, 66 F.3d 427 (2nd Cir. 1995)
SubsequentOn remand, judgment for plaintiff (remittitur); affirmed in part, 149 F.3d 137 (2nd Cir. 1998)
Holding
The federal trial court should apply the state law standard for excessiveness of a jury award. The appeals court should not apply the standard due to the Seventh Amendment.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
David Souter · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
MajorityGinsburg, joined by O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, and Breyer
DissentStevens
DissentScalia, joined by Rehnquist, and Thomas
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. VII; N.Y. Civ. Prac. Law and Rules (CPLR) §5501(c) (1995).

Gasperini v. Center for Humanities, 518 U.S. 415 (1996), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court further refined the Erie doctrine regarding when and how federal courts are to apply state law in cases brought under diversity jurisdiction. The Court held that the New York state rule applied.