Evolutions in the Enforcement of U.S. Punitive Damages in England - The Case of Football Injuries

This article discusses the situation in which an American judge awards punitive damages for a crushing tackle on a football (soccer) pitch but the judgment needs to be enforced in England because the tackling player transferred to that country. This contribution investigates whether this type of award can be executed in England against the tortfeasor's assets there. England's approach towards foreign punitive damages is peculiar. The enforcement of multiple damages, a form of punitive damages arrived at by multiplying the compensatory damages, is statutorily barred by the Protection of Trading Interests Act 1980.

For foreign punitive damages other than multiple damages, the sole available authority, namely Lord Denning's obiter dictum in S.A Consortium General Textiles v. Sun and Sand Agencies Ltd., seems to support a receptive attitude. The legal basis of the punitive award, therefore, dictates the outcome of the enforcement proceedings in England.