Taylor v Superior Court (1979) 24 Cal. 3rd 890

In this assignment, you have the opportunity to review a Supreme Court case decision written in 1979 that is still good law today and affects everyone who drives an automobile.Use any web browser to look up the above case of Taylor v Superior Court.24 Cal 3rd indicates that the case is located in volume 24 of the official reports of the Supreme Ct. of California (3rd series) on page 890.

There the court grappled with an award of punitive damages against an intoxicated driver in favor of another driver injured by the intoxicated driver.Punitive damages may be available if the defendant acted with malice, oppression, or fraud (Civil Code section 3294).The purpose of punitive damages is to deter the defendant and others from engaging in bad conduct.In general, it is only available for intentional misconduct and not mistakes (negligence).In Taylor, the driver did not intend to hurt anyone but was driving while intoxicated, causing injury to the plaintiff.

Briefly respond to the question:

What did the court decide about awarding punitive (also called exemplary) damages against a drunk driver who was negligent while driving drunk and caused harm to another?

Do you agree with the ruling?