Now that we have an idea what
compensatory damages are, when we consider the insuring agreement again, we understand that there is more that could be paid than just the medical expenses or damage to a vehicle.
Next, the court turned to the issue of the
compensatory damages. (55) It determined that "[t]he jury properly weighed the evidence, finding that Alamo continually verbally and physically abused Ondrisek and Calagna" and that Alamo's part in orchestrating and supervising the beatings "justified] the
compensatory damages awarded against him." (56) Finally, the court weighed the jury's 10:1 punitive damages ratio.
(27) By applying a multiplier to every dollar of
compensatory damages, "individuals awarded high amounts of
compensatory damages will receive proportionately higher awards of punitive damages." (28) The author qualifies this benefit by stating that proportionality can also be achieved utilizing a lump sum method that distributes punitive damages in proportion to the plaintiffs' harm, rather than on a per capita basis.
entitlement to an inherently inadequate award of
compensatory damages.
Exxon already has paid the $507.5 million in
compensatory damages and $383 million toward punitive damages.
Campbell, the Supreme Court joined the discussion of "excessive" punitive damages and held that such damages generally cannot exceed
compensatory damages by more than a single-digit ratio.
This, however, puts the company in the untenable posture of claiming that, for economic losses, the CWA somehow preempts punitive damages, but not
compensatory damages. Nothing in the statute requires that result, and the Court has spurned similar attempts to sever remedies from their causes of action, see Silkwood u Kerr-McGee Corp., 464 U.S.
Gibson, the Supreme Court held that the EEOC possessed the legal authority to require federal agencies to pay
compensatory damages. (8) In doing so, the court determined that the 1991 CRA constituted a waiver of the federal government's sovereign immunity and that this waiver applied not only to litigation in federal court but also to administrative proceedings.
subsidiary of the British drug giant, to pay $40 million in
compensatory damages and $175 million in punitive damages.
Clarifying its own "mixed case law" on the question, the Fifth Circuit has held that a jury's award of punitive damages in a Title VII case can stand even without an accompanying award of
compensatory damages. Such an award does not violate the defendant's due process rights because the statute includes a punitive damages cap, the court concluded.
In the first stage of the trial, the jury concluded that Dole acted with "malice, fraud and oppression" and granted $3.2 million in
compensatory damages to six workers.
In addition, based on a review of the legislation that implemented Congress' taxing power provided in the 16th Amendment, particularly the original exclusion for personal injury damages, the court found that the framers of the 16th Amendment would not have construed
compensatory damages for nonphysical injuries to be income.
