Do Punitive Damages Compensate Society?

This Article focuses on the concept that punitive damages can be justified as a substitute for compensatory damages for harms caused by the defendant to persons other than the plaintiff. The author concludes that punitive damages are a poor device for redressing harms caused to persons not a party to the action. Once punitive damages seek to address concerns beyond the plaintiff and the defendant, they raise a series of problems that defy rationalization. This article urges that we not take punitive damages as so great a good that we run roughshod over dues process in our zeal to preserve them.