( September 6, 2023, 1:52 PM EDT) -- LOS ANGELES — A California appellate panel on Sept. 5 deemed a roughly $5 million punitive damages award issued against the managers of seven Los Angeles apartment buildings for embezzlement in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) “excessive as a matter of law” and reduced it by more than $1.2 million, while affirming the court’s roughly $2.5 million compensatory damages award....