Mathias v. Accor Economy Lodging, Inc. - 347 F.3d 672 (7th Cir. 2003)

Mathias v. Accor Economy Lodging, Inc.

347 F.3d 672 (7th Cir. 2003)

I. Issue

Whether P is entitled to receive punitive damage awards and in what amount.

II. Fact

Ps were bitten by bedbugs in D's hotel.  Before the incident, Ecolab, the extermination service that the motel used, recommended that it be hired to spray every room; the motel refused.  

III. Procedure

Ps claim that D was guilty of "willful and wanton conduct" and is liable for punitive as well as compensatory damages.  P won.  D appeals, complaining primarily about the punitive damages award.  

IV. Reasoning

D's failure either to warn guests or to take effective measures to eliminate the bedbugs amounted to fraud and probably to battery as well.  There was sufficient evidence of "willful and wanton conduct" within the meaning that the Illinois courts assign to the term to permit an award of punitive damages in this case.

Punitive damages should be proportional to the wrongfulness of the defendant's actions.  D should have reasonable notice of the sanction for unlawful acts, so that he can make a rational determination of how to act; and so there have to be reasonably clear standards for determining the amount of punitive damages for particular wrongs.  Sanctions should be based on the wrong done rather than on the status of the D; a person is punished for what he does, not for who he is, even if the who is a huge corporation.  The award of punitive damages in this case thus serves the additional purpose of limiting the D's ability to profit from its fraud by escaping detection and private prosecution.  D's net worth of $1.6 billion becomes relevant when we consider Ps might have had difficulty financing this lawsuit.

V. Holding

P is entitled to receive punitive damage awards, and the amount from the jury is was not excessive.  AFFIRMED.