Brian Dawe v. Corrections Usa

MEMORANDUM

A jury found Defendants liable for tort and contract claims and awarded a total of $2,591,409 in compensatory damages and $10,085,000 in punitive damages. The district court reduced the punitive damage awards to a total of $2,368,406 to comport with due process. Defendants appeal. Plaintiffs cross-appeal for restoration of the jury’s punitive damages award. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

First, Defendants argue that Plaintiffs improperly based their tort claims, particularly defamation, on statements that were absolutely privileged pursuant to California Civil Code § 47(b). We disagree. The applicability of California’s “litigation privilege” is a question of law. Kashian v. Harriman, 98 Cal.App.4th 892, 913 , 120 Cal.Rptr.2d 576 (2002). Privileged statements must, inter alia, “have some connection or logical relation to the action.” Silberg v. Anderson, 50 Cal.3d 205, 212 , 266 Cal.Rptr. 638 , 786 P.2d 365 (1990). Put differently, the “the communicative act ... must function as a necessary or useful step in the litigation process and must serve its purposes.” Rothman v. Jackson, 49 Cal.App.4th 1134, 1146 , 57 Cal.Rptr.2d 284 (1996)…