Jul. 4, 2003

Bifurcation of Punitives Is Not Necessarily Best for Defendant

Focus Column - Litigation - By John B. Quinn and William C. Price - On the morning of your final status conference, your client, the defendant, cannot lose one pretrial motion: bifurcating punitive damages from liability. True, your motion to exclude consequential damages may be iffy. And you may have only a 50-50 chance of winning your motion to disqualify the plaintiff's touchy-feely expert. But a California court must grant the motion to bifurcate. Civil Code Section 3295(d).