Punitive Damages pile on the amount of largest Plaintiff's award

We reported last week that the "largest Plaintiff's verdict" in Nevada history was potentially handed down in the case of Gilbert Hyatt vs. California Franchise Tax Board: $138 million.

However, as many commentators have noted, the $138 million figure did not include any calculation of punitive damages by the jury. Well the jury came back with some punitives: $250 million more in punitive damages, bringing the total Plaintiff's verdict to $388 million for Mr. Hyatt. (Sacramento Bee) [someone should ask him which island he will be buying with his winnings].

Congratulations again to Plaintiff's counsel, Peter Bernhard of Bullivant Houser Bailey and Mark Hutchison from Hutchison & Steffen.

And, to clear up the prior debate over lead counsel, the Sacramento Bee reported:

Hyatt's lead counsel, Mark A. Hutchison, called the jury's awards "the shot heard 'round the world " for taxing agencies that abuse their power. "Government agencies should pause and reflect on the significance of this verdict," he said.