State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Inez Preece Campbell and Matthew C. Barneck, Special Administrator and Personal Representative of the Estate of Curtis B. Campbell
Decided April 7, 2003. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 01-1289 · 538 U.S. 408 (2003) · Cited 2,318 times
Holding
A punitive damages award of $145 million, where full compensatory damages are $1 million, is excessive and violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 6–3.
Majority · 6
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy · delivered the opinion of the Court
- David Hackett Souter
- John Paul Stevens
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Stephen Gerald Breyer
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Dissenting · 3
- Antonin Scalia · filed a dissenting opinion
- Clarence Thomas · filed a dissenting opinion
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg · filed a dissenting opinion
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.
Precedents cited
Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.
- BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore · 517 U.S. 559 (1996)
- Pacific Mutual Life Insurance v. Haslip · 499 U.S. 1 (1991)
- Cooper Industries, Inc. v. Leatherman Tool Group, Inc. · 532 U.S. 424 (2001)
- TXO Production Corp. v. Alliance Resources Corp. · 509 U.S. 443 (1993)
- Browning-Ferris Industries of Vermont, Inc. v. Kelco Disposal, Inc. · 492 U.S. 257 (1989)
- Honda Motor Co. v. Oberg · 512 U.S. 415 (1994)
- Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Shutts · 472 U.S. 797 (1985)
- Huntington v. Attrill · 146 U.S. 657 (1892)
- Bigelow v. Virginia · 421 U.S. 809 (1975)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Philip Morris USA v. Williams · 549 U.S. 346 (2007)
- Mallory v. Norfolk Southern R. Co · 600 U.S. 122 (2023)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2003). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).