What Does it Mean? Trial Lawyers Talk SCOTX Gregory Ruling

The worst fears of some amici did not come true when the Texas Supreme Court recently issued a plurality opinion in a closely watched case that could have seen radically new standards set for tethering noneconomic damages to the evidence in wrongful death and personal injury cases.

Among the 10 amicus briefs filed in the wrongful death case, some law professors and trial lawyer interest groups had argued that a trucking company was advocating for a standard that would value the grief of rich plaintiffs more than that of poor plaintiffs. In its 39-page opinion, the plurality wrestled with the fact that “assigning a dollar value” to emotional injuries “will never be a matter of mathematical precision” and in the end held that the arguments presented to the jury in this case will not cut it when it comes to tethering the amount to evidence in the record.