argues that the trial court erred in overruling their motion for remittitur. The Horners assert that section 510.265,. Missouri’s statutory cap on punitive damages, applies to limit damages for aggravating circumstances that are awarded in wrongful death cases. This is a question of first impression. Section 510.265 provides, in relevant part, that: 1. No award of punitive damages against any defendant shall exceed the greater of: (1) Five hundred thousand dollars; or (2) Five times the net amount of the judgment awarded to the plaintiff against the defendant. (Emphasis added.) “Punitive damages” is not defined in section 510.265. Statutory interpretation is a question of law, which is subject to de novo review .on appeal. Hervey v. Mo. Dep’t of Corrections, 379 S.W.3d 1 W.D.2004) (<HOLDING>). As discussed supra, section 510.263 generally
holding that courts must generally give effect to the plain meaning of a statute because that is the best evidence of the legislatures intent recognizing that the aba guidelines and federal law are instructive holding that even though the government retained discretion as to how to mark or fence dropoffs it did not retain discretion whether to do so holding legislatures intent is determined from plain and common meaning of words used holding that legislatures failure to qualify a definition though it knew how to do so is instructive in construing statutes intended meaning