Lindenberg v. Jackson Nat'l Life Ins. Co.

304 F. Supp. 3d 711
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Tennessee
DecidedSeptember 28, 2016
DocketNo. 2:13–cv–02657–JPM–cgc
StatusPublished

This text of 304 F. Supp. 3d 711 (Lindenberg v. Jackson Nat'l Life Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lindenberg v. Jackson Nat'l Life Ins. Co., 304 F. Supp. 3d 711 (W.D. Tenn. 2016).

Opinion

JON P. McCALLA, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

The Tennessee Supreme Court having denied certification of two questions regarding the constitutionality of the Tennessee punitive damages caps by Order docketed in this cause on June 27, 2016 (ECF No. 200), the case was remanded to this Court for determination of whether punitive damages are appropriate in the instant case and, if so, the proper amount of said damages.

For the following reasons, the Court finds that punitive damages are appropriate, that the Tennessee punitive damages cap is constitutional, and that the punitive damages to be awarded in the instant case are $700,000.

*715I. BACKGROUND1

On December 22, 2014, the jury in the instant case rendered its verdict, awarding $350,000 in actual damages and $87,500 in bad faith damages to Plaintiff Tamarin Lindenberg ("Plaintiff") and her children. (ECF No. 151.) The jury also awarded $3,000,000 in punitive damages. (ECF No. 152.)

On December 18, 2014, during the jury trial in the instant case, Defendant Jackson National Life Insurance Company ("Defendant") moved for judgment as a matter of law. (Min. Entry, ECF No. 139.) Defendant filed a brief in support of its motion on January 5, 2015. (ECF No. 156.) Plaintiff responded in opposition on January 12, 2015. (ECF No. 159.) The Court denied the motion on November 24, 2015. (ECF No. 187.) In the order denying Defendant's motion for judgment as a matter of law, the Court deferred ruling on the amount of punitive damages to which Plaintiff is entitled because the constitutionality of the Tennessee statutory damages cap was an unresolved issue. (Id. at 26-29.) Also on November 24, 2015, the Court certified two questions to the Tennessee Supreme Court:

1. Do the punitive damages caps in civil cases imposed by Tennessee Code Annotated Section 29-39-104 violate a plaintiff's right to a trial by jury, as guaranteed in Article I, section 6 of the Tennessee Constitution ?
2. Do the punitive damages caps in civil cases imposed by Tennessee Code Annotated Section 29-39-104 represent an impermissible encroachment by the legislature on the powers vested exclusively in the judiciary, thereby violating the separation of powers provisions of the Tennessee Constitution?

(ECF No. 188 at 5.)

On June 23, 2016, the Tennessee Supreme Court denied certification. (ECF No. 200-1.) The Court held a telephonic status conference on July 1, 2016. (Min. Entry, ECF No. 202.) In the conference it was determined that Plaintiff, Defendant, and Intervenor State of Tennessee ("the State") would submit and rely on in the instant case their briefing before the Tennessee Supreme Court and the supporting amicus briefs. The Court would then resolve the remaining issues in this case. (See ECF Nos. 203-208.)

The mandate of the Tennessee Supreme Court issued on June 23, 2016 and was docketed in this Court on July 11, 2016. (ECF No. 209 (remanding "for further proceedings and final determination ... as shall effectuate the objects of this order to remand, and attain the ends of justice.").)

II. LEGAL STANDARD

"It is well-settled in Tennessee that 'courts do not decide constitutional questions unless resolution is absolutely necessary to determining the issues in the case and adjudicating the rights of the parties.' " Waters v. Farr, 291 S.W.3d 873, 881 (Tenn. 2009) (quoting State v. Taylor, 70 S.W.3d 717, 720 (Tenn. 2002) ). When facing state constitutional challenges, Tennessee statutes receive "a strong presumption" of constitutionality. Lynch v. City of Jellico, 205 S.W.3d 384, 390 (Tenn. 2006) (citing Osborn v. Marr, 127 S.W.3d 737, 740-41 (Tenn. 2004) ); see also Waters, 291 S.W.3d at 881 ("Our charge is to uphold the constitutionality of a statute wherever possible."). Tennessee courts must construe statutes in a way that "sustain[s] the *716statute and avoid[s] constitutional conflict if at all possible, and ... indulge every presumption and ... resolve every doubt in favor of the statute's constitutionality." Howell v. State, 151 S.W.3d 450, 470 (Tenn. 2004) (citing Taylor, 70 S.W.3d at 721 ); see also In re Schafer, 689 F.3d 601, 605 (6th Cir. 2012) ("Where ... a [state] statute is challenged as unconstitutional, [federal courts] construe the statute to avoid constitutional infirmity when 'fairly possible.' " (quoting Eubanks v. Wilkinson, 937 F.2d 1118, 1122 (6th Cir. 1991) ) ). The presumption of constitutionality is especially burdensome in facial challenges to a statute, where "the challenger must establish that no set of circumstances exist under which [a challenged act of the legislature] ... would be valid." Lynch, 205 S.W.3d at 389.

III. ANALYSIS

A. Availability of Punitive Damages

The Tennessee Supreme Court stated in its order declining certification that "it would be imprudent for it to answer the certified questions concerning the constitutionality of the statutory caps on punitive damages in this case in which the question of the availability of those damages in the first instance has not been and cannot be answered by [it]." (ECF No. 200-1 at 2.) It is correct that "[t]he issue of the availability of the common law remedy of punitive damages in addition to the statutory remedy of the bad faith penalty ... was not certified [by this Court] ...." (Id. ) This Court, like another court in this district, "sees no persuasive data that the Tennessee Supreme Court would rule contrary to Riad [v. Erie Ins.

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Bluebook (online)
304 F. Supp. 3d 711, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lindenberg-v-jackson-natl-life-ins-co-tnwd-2016.