Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce issued the following announcement on February 9.
The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Wyche client, Target Corporation (“Target”), in an appeal that reverses a trial court judgment that ordered Target to pay $4.51 million in a lawsuit brought by an Anderson, SC woman after she was allegedly pricked by a hypodermic needle in a Target parking lot.
The punitive damages award had been upheld by the South Carolina Court of Appeals. Wyche’s John Moylan and Henry Parr represented Target in the appeal to the South Carolina Supreme Court where Moylan argued the court of appeals erred in holding that the cap on punitive damages was waived because the attorney representing Target at trial did not plead the cap as an affirmative defense.
The opinion issued by Chief Justice Donald W. Beatty noted, “Affirmative defenses generally shift the burden of proof to the defendant, and we do not believe the legislature intended…to shift the burden to Target to prove the applicability of the statutory cap on punitive damages in this case.”
The ruling represents a significant victory for Target as the statutory cap could reduce the punitive damages from $4.51 million to $500,000.
About Wyche
Wyche is a full-service law firm that has practiced law and served the community for 100 years. In that time, Wyche has participated in landmark litigation, served as counsel on cutting-edge transactions, and provided community leadership that has helped shape and drive our region’s growth and success. With offices in Greenville, Spartanburg, and Columbia, Wyche is the South Carolina member of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of independent law firms.
Original source can be found here.
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