Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Punitive Damages in Law
Punitive damages, which are also known as exemplary damages, are damages that are separate and in excess of the compensatory damages awarded to a plaintiff in a legal suit that is the result of some type of misconduct by the defendant. Punitive damages are intended to serve as a punishment for the defendant.
Punitive damages are not based on a victim's injuries. Instead, they are a way to punish the defendant for some type of negligence. Punitive damages are seen in cases where behavior that is so excessive that a civil court penalty is needed to deter the defendant from committing the same negligence again. For example, if a doctor practices without a license and botches an operation that disfigures a patient, the plaintiff may ask for punitive damages to penalize the doctor.
It is difficult...
In business law, there are no maximums and no minimums -- the jury determines how large the award will be. For this reason, many problems result from punitive e damages decisions, as juries often act emotionally and with little regard to the greater implications of their decisions.
While a jury initially decides the amount of damages awarded, a court can review it. In many cases where punitive damages have been awarded, the punitive damages aspect of the award seems excessive and grossly out of proportion to compensatory damages. As a result, many of these awards are appealed by the defendant and reduced by the appeals court. One example of this was the recent Texas court decision in Ballard v. Farmers Insurance…
References
Corley, Robert. (1999). The Legal & Regulatory Environment of Business. Oxford University Press.
For example, "in 1999, a Los Angeles jury issued the biggest punitive damage verdict ever -- $4 billion -- against General Motors (GM). The plaintiffs had been trapped and burned when their automobile gas tanks exploded. In court it was revealed that GM had chosen not to warn the public about the gas-line defect because it judged it would be cheaper to pay out individual lawsuits than to recall
These might include, respectively, a drug 'stash,' a car that was the result of drug sales, or even a home used in the trafficking of illegal drugs. The problem with forfeiture in a criminal case is that not all of the parties using the property may have been aware of the illegal use. For example, say that my adult son is selling drugs from my home and my car.
However, Erin Brockovich the movie has a very different ending than the actual civil action under tort law brought against California's Pacific Gas and Electric Co. The Hollywood ending would have been preferable, however life is just not that simple and a tort law case against such a company is really a long, tiring legal battle. The 1993 legal dispute from Hinkley was resolved by arbitrage and at first
Under tort law, injured parties are entitled to compensatory damages which include both general damages for pain and suffering and disfigurement and special damages which include payment for loss of past and future earnings and past and future medical expenses. The awarding of compensatory damages is totally within the discretion of the jury. Under the common law, the plaintiff is entitled to a single lump sum payment. Some states
Law Case Studies Case #1 There are three points to be made about case number one: 1) whether purchasing inventory is acceptable three weeks before declaring bankruptcy, 2) whether Arthur could make a $400 donation to American Cancer Society, and 3) whether Arthur could pay $300 for the current electric bill. Point 1 -- The trustee would not likely to be able to set aside the purchasing of inventory since Arthur is attempting
Add to this confusion the growing prevalence of telecommuters and the issues of the FLSA become even more complicated. Of course some telecommuting positions fall into the exempt category, and therefore are not subject to overtime pay, however some do. Due to the freedom to engage in 'private pursuits', employers may monitor when a virtual employee logs onto his or her computer and may require that he or she get