Punitive Element in Exemplary Damages - An Encroachment in Civil Liability Jurisprudence

Abstract

Exemplary damages are damages awarded in a court case which go beyond compensation to the victim. Not all nations allow courts to award exemplary damages and those nations which do not, generally will not uphold rulings of this nature. Exemplary damages are explicitly intended as punishment to penalize the individual found in the wrong, not to compensate the victim for any injuries which might have been experienced. In order for exemplary damages to be awarded, a case generally needs to meet a specific standard. Nations which allow courts to award exemplary damages requires that the case demonstrate that the person paying the damages committed the wrongful act willfully, maliciously, or recklessly. The idea behind awarding damages as punishment is that they serve as a deterrent so that people will be less likely to commit similar crimes in the future, and they also provide a public object lesson. Members of the public reading about large pay-outs and noting that a portion of the pay-out was punitive in nature will take note, and may think twice before engaging in similar activities. Generally courts will not award exemplary damages greater than four times the compensatory damages.Object of this paper is to critically examine the role of exemplary damages in civil liability jurisprudence. Scope of the paper is limited to discuss in detail about the concept of exemplary damages in tortious liability and its applications in India, The UK and in the USA.