Claims for punitive damages in environmental tort cases raise a number of interesting state law and constitutional issues. Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit had the occasion to address some of these issues in Johansen v. Combustion Engineering, Inc. This Dialogue discusses the aspects of the Johansen decision that have particular relevance in environmental cases and seeks to provide practitioners with some guidance as to how to approach these issues in future cases.
Factual Background
Beginning no later than the mid-1960s, Combustion Engineering (CE) and its predecessors mined Graves Mountain, Georgia, for kyanite, a mineral used to make heat-resistant products. CE conducted mining operations until 1984, when it sold the property to Pasco Mining Company (Pasco). Pasco operated the mine site until November 1, 1986, at which time the facility and all environmental responsibilities attendant to it reverted to CE pursuant to the parties’ 1984 contract. CE did
