CMT Hospital HIMA San Pablo Caguas v. Jose Suero-Algarin

A group of siblings, represented by the same counsel, filed suit for the death of their father due to alleged medical malpractice. One of the siblings filed in federal court, while the other siblings, residents of Puerto Rico, filed in state court, so as to not defeat diversity of jurisdiction, all parties represented by the same Puerto Rico-based legal counsel. A jury in the federal diversity action awarded respondent an amount that is nearly twenty times the maximum amount that he could have received in a Puerto Rico court. The district court agreed the award was excessive but refused to apply Puerto Rico’s strict excessiveness standard which requires review by comparison to damages granted in similar cases by the Puerto Rico Supreme Court. Using the federal standard of review and by comparison to cases from courts other than the Puerto Rico Supreme Court, the district court remitted the award to an amount that is still tenfold that which would be tolerated by the Puerto Rico Supreme Court. The First Circuit affirmed on the ground that the Puerto Rico standard did not “depart[] from the ordinary practice of reviewing awards under the federal standards for judging excessiveness.” The following questions are presented: 1. Whether the decision below contravenes Erie Railroad v. Tompkins by granting respondent a recovery that is ten times larger than the recovery respondent could have obtained in Puerto Rico courts (and would be allowed to respondent’s siblings in a parallel state court action).