$222M judgment vacated

HOUSTON — An appeals court in Texas vacated a $222 million judgment granted to the widow of a worker who was killed in a steam accident at a Kansas coal-fired power plant. The “grossly excessive” award was partially due to improper arguments made by the widow’s counsel, who encouraged the jury to punish the industrial services provider that had serviced the plant’s relief valves before the accident. Additionally, the case belongs in Kansas, so it is dismissed for forum non conveniens.