(CN) - The 9th Circuit asked the Oregon Supreme Court whether the state needs to approve settlements that modify a jury's punitive damages award, since the state gets 60 percent of those damages under its split-recovery statute.
It certified the following question to the state high court:
"When a jury has returned a verdict that includes an award of punitive damages under Oregon law, is the State of Oregon's consent necessary before a court may enter a judgment giving effect to any settlement between the parties that would result in a reduction or elimination of the punitive damages to which the State would otherwise be entitled under Oregon Revised Statutes §31.735?"
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