Civil Procedure I

Damages


Compensatory Damages

In a contract case, you can get expectation damages, those you foresaw at the time of the contract.

In contract cases you have a duty to mitigate, e.g. try to get another job.

In a tort case, you can get compensatory damages for all harm flowing from tort.

Insurance companies will usually settle a pain and suffering claim of three times the actual medical bills.

Liquidated Damages

Liquidated damages are damages that were agreed to be paid in advance that represent the harm should the contract be breached.

Liquidated damages still must have some reasonableness to them.

Statutory Damages

Some statutes have damages that you can get written into them.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are made to punish the wrongdoer and deter others.

To get punitive damages the behavior must be willful, wanton, or malicious.

In most cases, punitive damages can only be a single digit multiple of compensatory damages.