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You must ask the court for punitive damages, although you may not specify an amount. There is no set formula for determining the amount of punitive damages in California. Punitive damages serve to deter future misconduct and punish the defendant. ?Punitive damages? also goes by the name ?exemplary damages?.
Punitive damages are awarded in less than 5 percent of civil jury verdicts, ing to a 1990 American Bar Foundation study of 25,000 jury verdicts in 11 states over a four-year period.
418, the California Supreme Court articulated 'three guideposts' for courts reviewing punitive damages: ?(1) the degree of reprehensibility of the defendant's misconduct; (2) the disparity between the actual or potential harm suffered by the plaintiff and the punitive damages award; and (3) the difference between the ...
Generally, punitive damage awards require a compensatory damage award. There are two types of punitive damages: direct and vicarious. Direct punitive damages are assessed for an insured's wrongful acts. Vicarious punitive damages are imposed against an insured if it is liable for acts of another.
The right to a punitive damages award in California is strictly statutory. Civil Code section 3294 provides that a plaintiff can obtain punitive damages when it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant has been guilty of oppression, fraud or malice. (See also CACI 3940-3942.)
West Virginia's Punitive Damages Cap Section 55-7-29(c) of the West Virginia Code states that, ?The amount of punitive damages that may be awarded in a civil action may not exceed the greater of four times the amount of compensatory damages or $500,000, whichever is greater.?
The first factor?the reprehensibility of defendant's conduct?is subjective in nature. The other two?defendant's financial condition and the relationship to actual damages?are objective measurements.
Virginia law caps punitive damage awards at $350,000. While a jury may return a verdict for punitive damages over this amount, the judge will ultimately reduce the punitive damages award so it does not exceed the maximum amount.