摘要：Finding an effective and equitable method for awarding punitive damages in mass tort cases is a puzzle thatcontinues to vex the courts even after decades of litigation. Unlike a typical lawsuit, mass tort cases do not have asingle jury determining the appropriate amount of punishment for a defendant who has wronged one victim, or evena very small number of victims. Rather, mass tort cases involve multiple juries in many states deciding theappropriate level of punishment for a defendant whose course of tortious conduct has caused a variety of injuries tomany victims.Although the courts have struggled to bring order to the application of punitive damages in mass tort cases, courtshave yet to find a satisfactory approach. As a result, juries in such cases are given little guidance on the extent towhich they can and should punish a defendant's conduct. This lack of guidance has given rise to two real concerns:first, whether the overall punishment meted out to a mass tort defendant will be appropriate; and second, whetherthese awards will be equitably allocated among equally deserving plaintiffs
