punitive damages

pl.n.

Damages, in addition to compensatory damages, required to be paid by a defendant as punishment for particularly egregious conduct and as a deterrent to others.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

pu′nitive dam′ages

n.pl.

damages awarded a plaintiff in addition to compensatory damages in order to punish the defendant for a reckless or willful act.

[1970–75]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

punitive damages - (law) compensation in excess of actual damages (a form of punishment awarded in cases of malicious or willful misconduct)

exemplary damages, smart money

law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order"

amends, damages, indemnification, redress, restitution, indemnity - a sum of money paid in compensation for loss or injury

double damages - twice the amount that a court would normally find the injured party entitled to

treble damages - three times the amount that a court would normally find the injured party entitled to

Translations

punitive damages

pl (Jur) → Schadensersatz m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

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References in periodicals archive

The Missouri Senate debated a bill on March 27 that would make it more difficult for plaintiffs to claim and win punitive damages. The bill's sponsor, Sen.

Scott Sifton, D-Affton, also an attorney, said the bill would make punitive damages "darn near impossible to prove" and said he could think of no amendments that would make the bill palatable.

The bill also would bar plaintiffs from pleading punitive damages without the permission of a judge.

Punitive damages bill faces tough road in Senate

Beard presented his case against Wexford to a jury, which awarded him $10,000 in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages. Wexford persuaded the judge that the punitive-damages award violates the Fourteenth Amendment's prohibition on excessive or arbitrary punishment.

Beard also contends that the district court erred in reducing the jury's award of punitive damages without offering him a new trial.

14th Amendment Violation Damage Award

Punitive damages are sums awarded to tort victims over and above

The availability of punitive damages seems undisputed in most

INCOME-DEPENDENT PUNITIVE DAMAGES

According to Judge Cardozo, a penal law effects "vindication of the public justice" rather than "reparation to one aggrieved." Although courts have historically treated punitive damages as a purely civil remedy, that attitude has shifted over time.

If out-of-state defendants already face hostile judges and juries, then the availability of punitive damages (16) significantly multiplies the effect of that hostility.

Punishment but Not a Penalty? Punitive Damages Are Impermissible Under Foreign Substantive Law