Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Williams

Philip Morris USA v. Williams
Argued October 31, 2006
Decided February 20, 2007
Full case namePhilip Morris USA, Petitioner v. Mayola Williams, Personal Representative of the Estate of Jesse D. Williams, Deceased
Docket nos.05-1256
07-1216
Citations549 U.S. 346 (more)
127 S. Ct. 1057; 166 L. Ed. 2d 940; 2007 U.S. LEXIS 1332; 75 U.S.L.W. 4101; CCH Prod. Liab. Rep. ¶ 17,676; 20 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 80
Case history
SubsequentOn remand, 176 P.3d 1255, 344 Or. 45 (2008), cert. granted in part, 553 U.S. 1093 (2008), cert. dismissed as improvidently granted, 556 U.S. 178 (2009)
Holding
Due Process bars punitive damages for harm caused to individuals not involved in the litigation.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
John P. Stevens · Antonin Scalia
Anthony Kennedy · David Souter
Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen Breyer · Samuel Alito
Case opinions
MajorityBreyer, joined by Roberts, Kennedy, Souter, Alito
DissentStevens
DissentThomas
DissentGinsburg, joined by Scalia, Thomas
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. XIV

Philip Morris USA v. Williams, 549 U.S. 346 (2007), 556 U.S. 178 (2009), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, which held that the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment limits punitive damages, and ordered a lower court to reconsider its damages awards on that basis.