Also known as: vindictive damage · punitive damages · exemplary damages
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Damages awarded to punish a defendant for outrageous conduct and to deter similar future behavior, beyond any compensation for the plaintiff's loss.
Vincent Vale contracted with Venture Holdings to supply materials by a set date. Venture Holdings deliberately withheld delivery to force a price increase. Vincent Vale sued only for breach of contract and recovered his actual losses but received no additional award to punish the supplier.
Victoria Vernon bought a vehicle from Vertex Pharmaceuticals' distribution arm. The company knew of a hidden safety defect yet continued sales to meet quarterly targets. A jury awarded Victoria Vernon compensatory damages plus an additional sum after finding the company's reckless indifference to consumer safety.
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Violet Vidal recovered $50,000 in actual damages from Vasquez Imports after a defective product caused injury. The jury added $5 million in punishment. On appeal the court reduced the punitive portion after weighing the reprehensibility of the conduct, the ratio to actual harm, and comparable statutory penalties.
Vaughn Valentine owned a lot subject to a recorded covenant requiring daytime-only operations. ExcavateCo, the neighboring owner, ran heavy equipment at night. Vaughn Valentine obtained both an injunction and a punitive award because the knowing violation harmed multiple benefited parcels.
Vivian Velez accepted a marriage proposal and incurred substantial relocation costs. Her fiancé later ended the engagement solely to retain valuable stock options. A court permitted punitive damages after finding the termination was malicious.
Valentina Vasquez discovered that a hotel had secretly recorded her in a guest room and shared the footage at a staff event. After establishing liability for invasion of privacy, she received an award beyond her emotional-distress damages to punish the hotel's deliberate misconduct.
They are unavailable unless the breach also constitutes an independent tort for which such damages are recoverable.
Outrageous acts committed with evil motive or reckless indifference to the rights of others justify the award.
They apply three guideposts: the reprehensibility of the conduct, the ratio of punitive to actual damages, and the difference between the award and penalties authorized in comparable cases.
Yes, when the remedy chosen is appropriate under the factors listed in the Restatement, including the nature of the servitude and the parties' conduct.
They may be awarded if the defendant acted maliciously, because the retained action contains a tort component.
…news stories relating to some of the described events or by any other means. Alabama law denies a public officer recovery of punitive damages in a libel action brought on account of a publication concerning his official conduct unless he first makes a written demand for a public retraction and the defendant fails or refuses to…