Breaking Barriers to Justice
the discovery phase. Conversely, a failure to bring the motion may serve as grounds for denying a trial continuance. The motion also serves a strategic signaling function. It communicates to opposing counsel that punitive damages constitute a serious claim that you intend to pursue them vigorously and have assembled evidence you believe meets the substantial-probability standard.
Subsidiaries’ finances often embed within consolidated parent-company reporting without separate breakout. If your defendant operates as a subsidiary, the 10-K may not provide usable evidence of that entity’s specific financial condition. For non-public defendants, other sources may provide circumstantial evidence of financial condition: recorded real property transfers; UCC financing statement filings; litigation search services showing judgments, liens, and prior verdicts; professional license filings requiring financial disclosures; bond filings; and regulatory submissions in licensed industries.
Public Sources: What You Need Not Subpoena
For publicly traded defendants, the SEC’s EDGAR database (www.sec.gov/edgar) provides immediate access to Forms 10-K (annual reports), 10-Q (quarterly reports), and 8-K (current reports). These filings contain consolidated financial statements, executive compensation disclosures, and risk factor discussions that illuminate financial condition. Ensure the exact defendant entity files with the SEC.
Think Beyond Net Worth: Profits and Ability to Pay
Net worth does not exhaust the measures of financial condition. Several appellate decisions approve punitive awards based on alternative metrics when
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Consumer Attorneys of California
FORUM July/August 2026
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