- exemplary damages
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exemplary damages see damage 2
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.
- exemplary damages
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n.Damages awarded on top of actual damages if the wrong done to the plaintiff by the defendant was aggravated in some way.
The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008.
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Damages awarded over and above special and general damages to punish a losing party's willful or malicious misconduct. Sometimes called punitive damages.Category: Criminal LawCategory: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
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Also known as exemplary damages, retributory damages or vindictive damages.Damages awarded in excess of the claimant's loss. They are intended to punish the defendant and are more closely connected to criminal law than tort or contract. Punitive damages are awarded occasionally in tort cases to mark the court's disapproval of the defendant's conduct (for example, in defamation actions); they are not available for breach of contract, as damages in contract are awarded on a compensatory basis. Under the present law, punitive damages cannot be awarded unless:• The wrongdoer has committed a legal wrong for which punitive damages were awarded before 1964; and• The wrongdoer's conduct falls into one or other of two limited categories of abuse of power by servants of government, or conduct which was motivated by the pursuit of profits.Related links+ punitive damages, also known as exemplary damagesUSAThe amount of money awarded to the claimant in civil litigation to punish the wrongdoer and to deter the wrongdoer and others from engaging in unlawful conduct in the future. Punitive damages must bear a reasonable relationship to the harm caused by the wrongdoer's actions, and are reserved only for situations in which the wrongdoer acted intentionally, recklessly or with gross negligence in causing the claimant's harm. Punitive damages are awarded to the claimant in addition to compensatory damages. Punitive damages generally may not be recovered for breach of contract.
Practical Law Dictionary. Glossary of UK, US and international legal terms. www.practicallaw.com. 2010.
- exemplary damages
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n.=>> damages (punitive damages).
Webster's New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000.
- exemplary damages
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n.often called punitive damages, these are damages requested and/or awarded in a lawsuit when the defendant's willful acts were malicious, violent, oppressive, fraudulent, wanton or grossly reckless. Examples of acts warranting exemplary damages: publishing that someone had committed murders when the publisher knew it was not true but hated the person; an ex-husband trashes his former wife's auto and threatens further property damage; a stockbroker buys and sells a widow's stocks to generate commissions resulting in her losing all her capital (money). These damages are awarded both as a punishment and to set a public example. They reward the plaintiff for the horrible nature of what she/he went through or suffered. Although often requested, exemplary damages are seldom awarded. There have been major awards in egregious (remarkable or outstanding) cases, such as fraud schemes, sexual harassment or other intentional and vicious actions even when the provable actual damages were not extensive.
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.
