Busy Bee Inc. v. Wachovia Bank

NEALON, J.,

Defendant Wachovia Bank N.A., successor by merger to Corestates Bank N.A., has filed a motion in limine raising a novel evidentiary issue which has not yet been addressed by an appellate court in Pennsylvania: Whether the net worth of the successor corporation (Wachovia) or the net worth of the predecessor corporation and original tort-feasor (Corestates) is the appropriate measure of “the wealth of the defendant” for purposes of assessing punitive damages? Defendant contends that, since the jury found that Corestates had engaged in outrageous conduct in 1995 and 1996, and Wachovia…