In ''BMW of North America v. Gore'', 517 U.S. 559 (1996), a 5-4 [[U.S. Supreme Court]] held that a punitive damage award of $2 million to customer who purchased a "new" car without knowledge that it had been repainted was grossly excessive and hence violative of the [[Due Process Clause]].
Justice [[John Paul Stevens]] wrote the opinion for the court, and the dissenters were Justices [[Antonin Scalia]], [[Clarence Thomas]], [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]] and Chief Justice [[William Rehnquist]].
In a subsequent decision Justice Stevens later changed his view and dissented against a constitutional limit on [[punitive damages]], but the Court continued to maintain that the [[U.S. Constitution]] does limit [[punitive damages]].
[[Category:United States Supreme Court Cases]]