Baker

INTRODUCTION

Respondent and plaintiff Ken R. Baker sued Theresa Castaldi1 and appellant Alfonse Castaldi for allegedly stealing antiques he owned. Plaintiff 2 sought punitive

1 Theresa Castaldi was a defendant in the trial court proceedings, but is not an appellant in this appeal. 2 We refer to Ken R. Baker as “plaintiff” to distinguish him from appellant Annette Baker, trustee of the Ann Jay Trust. damages. Trial proceeded to a first phase3 on March 25, 2013 and a punitive damages calculation phase on August 6, 2013. The first phase dealt with liability, compensatory damages and whether plaintiff was entitled to punitive damages. The second phase dealt with the calculation of the punitive damages. After the first phase completed, the court found both Theresa and Alfonse jointly and severally liable for conversion. On May 20, 2013, months before the punitive damages phase began, a document entitled “judgment” was filed. The “judgment” indicated that judgment was against both defendants, jointly and severally, and set forth $610,500 in compensatory damages plus interest and costs. The “judgment” went on to state that the court “finds by a preponderance of the evidence[4] that…