District court rejects constitutional challenge to North Carolina cap on punitive damages

Last week we blogged about a nuisance lawsuit in which 10 plaintiffs each won $5 million in punitive damages against a hog farm. WRAL.com reports that the trial judge, U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt, has reduced each award to $250,000 under North Carolina's cap, rejecting the plaintiffs' argument that the cap is unconstitutional.