Taylor v. Superior Court

In Taylor v. Superior Court (1979) 24 Cal. 3d 890, a personal injury action against an intoxicated driver in which our Supreme Court approved an award of punitive damages, the court made the following statement which we find instructive: "A conscious disregard of the safety of others may constitute malice within the meaning of section 3294 of the Civil Code. In order to justify an award of punitive damages on this basis, the plaintiff must establish that the defendant was aware of the probable dangerous consequences of his conduct, and that he willfully and deliberately failed to avoid those consequences." ( Id. at pp. 895-896.)