Abstract
Three experiments were conducted in order to examine the effects of defendant wealth on civil litigation damage award decisions. Wealth was manipulated in each experiment by presenting participants with either high or low company profit information for that year. All participants read three trial scenarios in which the defendant Manufacturer was found responsible for the plaintiffs injuries. Fifty-two participants awarded economic damages in the first experiment. Contrary to law, profit information influenced the economic awards, such that high profits resulted in significantly higher award amounts and award variances. In the second experiment, 50 participants awarded pain and suffering awards. These awards were not influenced by profit information. The final experiment (n=55) involved punitive damage awards. Higher profits increased both the magnitude and variability of punitive awards.
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