Stambaugh v. International Harvester Co.

The plaintiff, Merlin C. Stambaugh, brought a product liability action against International Harvester Company (Harvester), seeking damages for injuries received on May 17, 1975. A jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff of $650,000 in compensatory damages and $15 million in punitive damages. The circuit court of St. Clair County ordered a remittitur in the punitive damages award to $7,500,000 and entered judgment in the amount of $8,150,000. The appellate court further reduced the punitive damages to $650,000 and affirmed the balance of the judgment. (106 Ill. App. 3d 1.) We granted the…