Compensatory Damages

Remedies

The consequences of liability.

Remedies include:

  • Compensatory damages
  • Punitive damages
  • Nominal damages and declaratory judgment
  • Equitable relief

[fit] Compensatory

[fit] Damages

and punitive damages

Compensatory Damages

The Objective: To restore the plaintiff to the state they were in before the harm caused by the defendant.

Two separate legal inquiries:

  1. Liability
  2. Damages

Single judgment rule

Seffert v. Los Angeles Transit Lines

  1. Procedural posture
  2. Legal question(s)
  3. Relevant facts
  4. Holding
  5. Reasoning(s) behind the holding

McDougald v. Garber

  1. Procedural posture
  2. Legal question(s)
  3. Relevant facts
  4. Holding
  5. Reasoning(s) behind the holding

fit

Jury Exercise

You are a jury, determining damages in the following case.

The giant donut at Randy’s Donuts fell down, crushing the plaintif, Cindy Estrada. You have already determined that the proprieters of Randy’s Donuts are liable for negligence and have calculated compensatory damages for expenses that Estrada has already incurred. But your role as factfinder is not over:

You must now determine the plaintiff’s compensatory damages for future economic loss and pain and suffering.