ATLANTA - The Georgia Court of Appeals has again upheld a $257 million punitive damage award against Time Warner Entertainment Co., which was accused by investors of Six Flags over Georgia of mismanaging the amusement park. An appeal to the state Supreme Court was likely.

Ten judges on the 12-member Court of Appeals upheld the award. Two judges recused themselves from the case, which was appealed by AOL Time Warner, parent of Time Warner Entertainment.

"Given the amount of intentional economic damage inflicted by corporate entities with collective assets measured in billions of dollars, we believe that the award of punitive damages was reasonably calculated to punish them and to deter such conduct in the future," the court said.

The ruling, handed down late Friday, is the latest in a lengthy court battle.

A Gwinnett County jury concluded in 1998 that Time Warner Entertainment and affiliated companies underinvested in Six Flags Over Georgia to depress the park's value so they could renew their partnership agreement at a discount.

The jury awarded the Six Flags partnership $197 million in compensatory damages and $257 million in punitive damages — the largest civil award ever in Georgia. The Court of Appeals upheld the verdict in July 2000.

Time Warner then took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which told the Court of Appeals to review the punitive damage award in light of an earlier ruling that appeals courts should use a broad standard to decide if awards of punitive damages are so large as to be unconstitutional.

But the Appeals Court said it saw no reason to overturn the award because the defendants' actions were premeditated as well as "deceitful, self-serving and financially damaging" to the plaintiffs.

Jack Dalton, an attorney for AOL Time Warner, said an appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court was a likely next step. "We'll be seeking a further review of this decision," Dalton said.

Time Warner and its partners sold the Six Flags chain of theme parks in February 1998 to Premier Parks, an Oklahoma City-based amusement park operator, for $1.9 billion. Premier has since changed its name to Six Flags Inc.
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Quelle: Yahoo News