1995 was a watershed year. Michael Jordan returned to the NBA after a two-year hiatus, Brad Pitt was named “Sexiest Man Alive” by People magazine, and the world met Buzz Lightyear for the first time. Today, Buzz remains a constant fixture in pop culture, thanks largely to his signature catchphrase: “To Infinity and … Beyond!” Indeed, Buzz himself may use that phrase to describe the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s recent decision in Bert v. Turk, 298 A.3d 44 (Pa. 2023), which calls into question the presumptive constitutional limit for punitive damages awards.

Background

In 2017, four employees with nonsolicitation agreements left their employment with The Bert Co. d/b/a Northwest Insurance Services and joined First National Insurance Agency, LLC. They moved as part of what is known in business parlance as a “lift-out,” a practice in which a group of employees from one company are hired by a competitor. Northwest filed suit and obtained a preliminary injunction enforcing the agreements. At the ensuing trial, the jury exonerated three employees from any liability and exonerated the corporate defendants on two claims. While they found the remaining employee and corporate defendants liable on other claims, the jury only awarded Northwest $250,000 of the roughly $4 million in compensatory damages sought; the award was joint and several. However, the jury awarded Northwest $2.8 million in punitive damages—representing an 11.2:1 ratio of punitive-to-compensatory damages on a per-judgment basis.

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