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Full-Text Articles in Civil Law
Cleaning Up Punitive Damages: A Statutory Solution For Unguided Punitive-Damages Awards In Maritime Cases, Richard A. Chastain
Cleaning Up Punitive Damages: A Statutory Solution For Unguided Punitive-Damages Awards In Maritime Cases, Richard A. Chastain
Vanderbilt Law Review
Intentionally destroying property-boundary markers by sawing down the posts.' Causing environmental disasters. Fraudulently refusing to settle insurance claims within coverage limits. Bad-faith dealing in big oil contracts. Hiding mild weather damage to new vehicles. Creating and marketing cigarettes while knowing about their carcinogenic risks. Contributing to automobile accidents. No, these are not items on some nefarious villain's to-do list. These are all examples of cases where courts have awarded punitive damages against the tortfeasors on top of their compensatory liability. While each tort is unquestionably wrong, some certainly appear more wrong than others.
In recent years, punitive damages have become …
Saving Lives Through Punitive Damages, W. Kip Viscusi, Joni Hersch
Saving Lives Through Punitive Damages, W. Kip Viscusi, Joni Hersch
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
This Article proposes that the value of statistical life ("VSL ") be used to set the total damages amount needed for deterrence when punitive damages are warranted in wrongful death cases. The appropriate level of total damages should be achieved by adjusting the value of punitive damages. Compensatory damages should not be distorted to establish the total damages level needed for efficient deterrence. Attempts to introduce hedonic damages as a compensatory damages component, and proposals to use the VSL on a routine basis when setting compensatory damages awards, are misguided and will undermine the insurance and compensation functions of compensatory …