Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, SUPREME COURT DOCKET: Recent decisions, cases, and petitions pending High Court review, (Sep 23, 2015)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

This Antitrust Law Daily feature presents a chart highlighting the decisions, arguments, briefs, and petitions on antitrust and trade regulation issues before the 2015 Term of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Currently, there are 13 antitrust and trade regulation cases that are awaiting Supreme Court Review. Two cases, Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez (Dkt. 14-857) and DIRECTV, Inc. v. Imburgia (Dkt. 14-462), were granted review during the 2014 Term. The remaining 11 cases await determination on whether the Court will grant review.

In Westgate Resorts, Ltd., L.P. v. Overton, a time-share resort company is challenging an award of punitive damages entered by the Tennessee Court of Appeals in Knoxville. Nathan and Patricia Overton allegedly paid $39,280 for an all-season “floating” timeshare interval, claiming that salespersons misrepresented that the Overtons would be able to request and obtain a reservation for a certain unit for the same week in December each year, and have the right to book unlimited “Owners’ Nights” at any Westgate resort for certain fees. The trial court concluded that Westgate intentionally failed to provide the Overtons with an accurate public offering statement and intentionally refused to rescind the contract, in violation of the Time-Share Act; that Westgate engaged in deceptive practices in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA); and that Westgate was guilty of common law fraud and misrepresentation with regard to the promise of unlimited Owners’ Nights.

The trial court granted rescission of the contract, ordered Westgate to refund the Overtons’ purchase money, and awarded $600,000 in punitive damages. The Court of Appeals affirmed the punitive damages, noting that the lower court did not err in focusing on Westgate’s wealth in determining the amount, but nevertheless remitted the punitive damages to $500,000 to comport with Tennessee’s statutory punitive damages cap. Westgate’s Petition for Permission to Appeal the Decision in the Supreme Court of Tennessee was denied in June 2015.

Westgate has now petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for review, asking: (1) Whether a punitive damages award that is nearly fourteen times the compensatory damages, primarily based upon the defendant’s nationwide wealth, violates the due process clause of the Constitution? and (2) Whether awarding punitive damages that are nearly fourteen times compensatory damages based on conduct meeting only one of the Campbell reprehensibility factors violates the due process clause of the Constitution?

For details about this and other petitions and cases pending before the Supreme Court, please consult the chart of antitrust and trade regulation cases awaiting decision in the 2015 term. Issued opinions, granted petitions, pending petitions, and denied petitions are listed separately, along with a summary of the questions presented and the current status of each case.

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