Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. and Samuel Alvarado, Petitioners v. Michael Sevcik and Cathy Loth, Respondents

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court held that the trial court erred by admitting evidence of Reliance Steel & Aluminum's $1.9 billion gross revenues, finding the error was not harmless and therefore reversed the appellate court's judgment and remanded for a new trial. The Court emphasized that wealth evidence is generally inadmissible when it is not directly relevant to liability or punitive damages and that such prejudice cannot be ignored in damages determinations.