City of Cleveland v. Peter Kiewit Sons' Co.
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
624 F.2d 749 (1980)
The City of Cleveland (plaintiff) leased dock space to Peter Kiewit Sons' Co. (defendant), a large construction company; after Kiewit vacated the dock and part of it later collapsed (mostly outside Kiewit's leased area), the city sued Kiewit for damages. At trial, the city attorney repeatedly tried to introduce Kiewit's large financial resources, liability insurance, and the size of its government contract; the judge blocked these efforts and reprimanded the attorney before the jury, but the jury still returned a $350,000 verdict for the city, and after the city rejected a remittitur, the judge ordered a new trial on damages alone. Kiewit appealed, arguing the misconduct had prejudiced the jury on liability as well.
Whether evidence of a defendant's financial standing is relevant to the issue of the defendant's liability for damages.