August 31, 2026
A Sixth Circuit panel has upheld a $450,000 punitive damages award for five Guatemalan farmworkers who accused a West Michigan agricultural labor contractor and its owners of trafficking-related and wage law abuses, ruling that the award was constitutionally permissible despite the jury awarding only economic compensatory damages.
June 03, 2026
A Sixth Circuit panel on Wednesday examined whether a $450,000 punitive damages award in a farmworker trafficking case can stand when the jury awarded only economic damages, and whether a trial judge properly handled an unusual incident involving a spectator whose presence allegedly affected a plaintiff's testimony.