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Punitive Damages
What is Punitive Damages?
When you can show that someone's malice, oppression or fraud caused your injuries, you can recover punitive damages. Punitive damages are typically awarded when a person intentionally causes harm or recklessly causes harm. To punish an offender and deter dangerous behavior, punitive damages are awarded.
Punitive damages are not based upon the plaintiff's losses, but rather on the defendant's reprehensibility and his ability to pay, as opposed to compensatory damages (such as medical bills, lost wages, lost earning capacity, car repair bills, and pain and suffering).
As well as compensatory damages, punitive damages may be awarded.
Awarding Punitive Damages
A trial court jury may award punitive damages in a personal injury case under California Civil Code 3294. To establish malice, oppression, or fraud, the plaintiff must provide clear and convincing evidence. Plaintiffs are not compensated with punitive damages if they have suffered losses. Instead, they are intended to: Punish people and companies who engage in particularly bad behavior and to serve as examples to discourage other people from behaving similarly in the future.
Malice Oppression or Fraud
"Malice," "oppression," and "fraud" are defined in California Civil Code 3294(c) as follows:
The term "malice" refers to conduct intended by the defendant to cause injury to the plaintiff, or acts carried out with a conscious disregard for the rights and safety of others by the defendant. An act of oppression is the conscious disregard for a person's rights that results in cruel and inhumane hardships.
"Fraud" is the intentional misrepresentation, deception, or concealment of a material fact known to the defendant, with the intention of depriving a person of their property or legal rights, or harming them in some other manner.
Clear And Convincing Evidence
A plaintiff must usually prove each element of the claim by a preponderance of the evidence in order to recover compensatory damages (also called actual damages) in a California personal injury case. Basically, the plaintiff must prove that each of the elements of the claim is more likely than not true. In the case of punitive damages, however, the plaintiff must prove malice, oppression, or fraud by "clear and convincing evidence." California law does not define this concept. A high degree of probability is required for malice, oppression, or fraud in order to meet the burden of proof.
Process For Punitive Damages
An award of punitive damages (also called exemplary damages) must be requested specifically by the plaintiff. An amount may not be specified in a punitive damages claim.
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In some cases, punitive damages are decided at the same time as a defendant's liability. Alternatively, the defendant can request that the issue be "bifurcated" and tried separately. During a bifurcated trial, the jury will not hear any evidence of the defendant's profits or financial condition until The plaintiff wins the case, and The jury determines that the defendant has committed malice, oppression, or fraud. In order to avoid prejudicing the jury against a "deep pocket" defendant, the jury must be informed of the defendant's finances before deciding what punitive damages to award.
Calculation of Punitive Damages
Punitive damages in a California personal injury case cannot be determined by a fixed standard. A jury will consider the following factors in determining if punitive damages should be awarded and, if so, how much: the defendant's level of reprehensibility; whether there is a reasonable relationship between punitive damages and the plaintiff's damages; and what amount will punish the defendant and discourage future wrongful conduct, given that defendant's financial condition.
Cap on Punitive Damages
In California, unlike some other states (such as Nevada), punitive damages are not capped. However, the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the imposition of grossly excessive or arbitrary punishments. Punitive damages must, therefore, bear a reasonable relationship to the compensatory damages awarded to the plaintiff, according to the United Supreme Court. In general, the multiplier is higher when the behavior is reprehensible. A single-digit ratio between punitive and compensatory damages will not satisfy due process, according to the U.S. Supreme Court.