Mississippi High Court Declines to Rule on State’s Cap on Non-Economic Damages

The Mississippi Supreme Court says it does not have enough information to decide whether the state’s limit on non-economic damages — as applied to a federal lawsuit — is constitutional.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which is considering an appeal of a damage award against Sears, Roebuck and Co., had asked the Mississippi high court for an opinion.

A federal jury in 2008 determined Sears was liable for injuries in a 2005 car wreck and awarded $4 million in damages but the panel did not itemize how much of the award was non-economic damages. Sears agreed $2.2 million was for non-economic damages. A federal judge reduced that part of the damages to $1 million.

But Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Michael Randolph said that the federal jury did not itemize the award and justices could not separate economic damages from non-economic damages, which are capped under Mississippi law.