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Full-Text Articles in Law

Punitive Damages For Constitutional Torts, Michael L. Wells Jan 1996

Punitive Damages For Constitutional Torts, Michael L. Wells

Scholarly Works

Critics complain that punitive damages often serve no good purpose. Whatever the merit of this charge as a general proposition, it is not universally valid across the range of tort suits. This article examines the issues raised by punitive damages for constitutional torts and takes issue with the general failure of commentators on punitive damages to recognize differences between constitutional tort and common law torts. I shall argue that constitutional tort is one area where punitive damage awards are essential to the effective enforcement of our rights. Constitutional tort is a special domain, in which the policy issues that bear …


Pain And Suffering: Damages In Search Of A Sounder Rationale, W. Kip Viscusi Jan 1996

Pain And Suffering: Damages In Search Of A Sounder Rationale, W. Kip Viscusi

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This paper will address pain and suffering generally and will not distinguish these different potential components of pain and suffering damages. Section 1 presents the theoretical foundations for damages awards, including both the deterrence and compensation objectives. Section 2 explores some practical rationales for pain and suffering damages, such as the omission of legal fees as a component of damages. Section 3 examines the extent to which pain and suffering awards vary systematically with the extent and nature of the injury as opposed to simply being random acts of capricious juries. Since much of the interest in pain and suffering …


Don't Try: Civil Jury Verdicts In A System Geared To Settlement, Samuel R. Gross, Kent D. Syverud Jan 1996

Don't Try: Civil Jury Verdicts In A System Geared To Settlement, Samuel R. Gross, Kent D. Syverud

Articles

If it is true, as we often hear, that we are one of the most litigious societies on earth, it is because of our propensity to sue, not our affinity for trials. Of the hundreds of thousands of civil lawsuits that are filed each year in America, the great majority are settled; of those that are not settled, most are ultimately dismissed by the plaintiffs or by the courts; only a few percent are tried to a jury or a judge. This is no accident. We prefer settlements and have designed a system of civil justice that embodies and expresses …


Seller’S Damages From A Defaulting Buyer Of Realty: The Influence Of The Uniform Land Transactions Act On The Courts, Gerald Korngold Jan 1996

Seller’S Damages From A Defaulting Buyer Of Realty: The Influence Of The Uniform Land Transactions Act On The Courts, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

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