State Farm Mutual Insurance Company v. Kuharik

Banke, Chief Judge.

At issue in this appeal is whether punitive damages may be awarded to a plaintiff in a “John Doe” action brought to establish the liability of his uninsured motorist carrier for loss caused by an unknown driver.

Mr. and Mrs. Kuharik sued to recover for personal injuries sustained by Mrs. Kuharik when her vehicle was struck from behind by another vehicle. The complaint alleged that Mrs. Kuharik had been forced to slow her vehicle suddenly to avoid hitting an unknown taxicab driver who had stopped in front of her preparatory to making a U-turn. (The driver who actually struck…