Lara

The question before us is whether a plaintiff in pursuit of an award of punitive damages can satisfy her obligation to present evidence of the defendant’s financial condition without some proof of his net worth or something akin to “net worth.” We hold that where, as here, the evidence is limited to proof of the defendant’s annual income, there is insufficient evidence to support an award of punitive damages.

Facts

Plaintiff Ana Lara sued defendant Santiago Cadag for damages, asserting the usual assortment of intentional tort theories and alleging that Cadag had sexually assaulted her while she was working at his medical office as a nursing intern. Trial was to the court.

No evidence of Cadag’s net worth was presented. The evidence of his financial condition, such as there is, came in by way of his answers to questions on cross-examination—that he owns and operates a family medical clinic with a monthly net profit of $3,000 and that he works part-time at another clinic where he earns an additional $5,000 to $6,000 each month. That is all there is. We do not have a clue about his assets or liabilities and we have no idea if he owns or owes money on a house or a yacht or…