A Pennsylvania common pleas judge has cut a $19 million verdict in a nursing home case by more than half, after finding that two defendants could not be held liable as a matter of law and that punitive damages against another were “grossly excessive and exorbitant.”
Delaware County Court of Common Pleas Judge Kelly Eckel ruled in late December to grant post-trial motions for three defendants in Newlin v. Vita Healthcare Group, which had come to a $19 million verdict in January of last year. The verdict included $2 million in Wrongful Death Act claims, $2 million in Survival Act claims, and $15 million in punitive damages.
