Question: What are punitive damages?
Answer: They are damages awarded by the jury against a defendant in a civil case to punish their conduct and deter others from acting in the similar fashion. Only in recent times have requests for punitive damages become commonplace. Indeed, until 1988 Indiana common law precluded punitive damages under a theory, now rejected by statute, that the threat of criminal prosecution for the same acts barred punitive action by the State. Current law recognizes that punitive damages may serve the societal objective of deterring similar conduct by the defendant or others by way of example. For that reason, if punitive damages are appropriate, the wealth of the defendant has for many years been held relevant to a determination of the appropriate amount. The factors used to determine and review an award of punitive damages are: the reprehensibility of conduct; the disparity between the harm suffered and the punitive damages awarded; and the difference between the punitive damages awarded and the civil and criminal penalties authorized or imposed in comparable cases. Again, punitive damages are intended both to deter others and to punish the wrongdoer. However, the common law has long held that the ability of a defendant to pay a punitive damages award is an important consideration.
