Damages award criticised by Appeal Court

A former broker who won US$25mn in punitive damages from an arbitration panel after claiming his reputation had been damaged after he was fired from his firm, has had his award thrown out. An appeal court in New York State said that the arbitration panel had ignored the relevant law when they awarded $27.6mn in total damages. The appeal court said the punitive damages award did not appear to have any relationship to the actual harm suffered by the broker. The arbitration panel will now be required to review the punitive damages award.