Suing for Punitive Damages in Monterey Park

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Litigation Lawyers in Monterey Park

In Monterey Park, California, the civil litigation system is mainly concerned with compensating the victims of wrongdoing, rather than punishing the wrongdoers, or casting moral blame upon them.

There is a major exception to this rule, however. In limited cases, courts in Monterey Park, California will order a defendant to pay the plaintiff damages which are not directly tied to any harm sustained by the plaintiff. Rather, these damages, which are known as "punitive damages", are meant to punish the wrongdoer, and serve as a deterrent.

It's essential to note that courts in Monterey Park, California prefer not to grant punitive damages. This is because the civil justice system is designed mainly to compensate the victims of wrongdoing. Nonetheless, there are some cases where the defendant's conduct was so immoral and evil that civil courts have an interest in making them pay further damages, going above and beyond what's needed to compensate the victim, in order to serve as a deterrent.

Conduct that can give rise to punitive damages in Monterey Park, California

The vast majority of personal injury lawsuits in Monterey Park, California involve cases in which the defendant did not intend to harm the plaintiff, but did so through carelessness. This is not enough to award punitive damages in Monterey Park, California.

In Monterey Park, California, punitive damages are only awarded in extreme cases. Civil wrongs such as fraud, conversion (theft), battery, and other intentional, depraved acts are sufficient to award punitive damages. In deciding whether or not to award punitive damages, and how much money to award, courts in Monterey Park, California will consider many different factors. Typically, they employ a sliding scale, weighing the nature of the conduct and the actual harm that the conduct caused. The more immoral the conduct, and/or the more harm caused, the more likely a court is to award punitive damages.

It's essential to know that punitive damages in Monterey Park, California are subject to limits. The Supreme Court of the United States has held, more than once, that punitive damages can't be grossly disproportionate to the actual harm sustained by the plaintiff. Grossly excessive punitive damage awards are unconstitutional, the Supreme Court has held, because they amount to the government acquiring property from the defendant without due process of law.

Punitive damages in Monterey Park, California typically cannot surpass 10 times the amount of actual damages suffered by the plaintiff. Nonetheless, this is just a guideline, and not a strict rule. Courts in California have found larger punitive damage awards to be perfectly valid, and smaller ones to be invalid. This will be strongly dependent on the facts of each case.

How Can a Monterey Park, California Attorney Help?

In Monterey Park, California, judges and juries have a good deal of leeway in deciding if they want to grant punitive damages, so there are a nearly-unlimited number of cases that can lead to a punitive damage award.

If you are engaged in a case in Monterey Park, California that you believe might entitle you to punitive damages, a lot of money could be at stake. Thus, if you want to pursue your legal remedies, you should see a Monterey Park, California civil litigation attorney as soon as possible.

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Life in Monterey Park

Monterey Park, California is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is about 10 miles to the east of Downtown Los Angeles, putting it well within the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It currently has a population of over 60,000 people.

Monterey Park, California was founded in the mid-1800s. It began to grow heavily in the 1970s, when large numbers of affluent Asian-American families began to move to the area. The city is sometimes nicknamed "Little Taipei," because of the large number of individuals of Taiwanese descent living in the city. In this time period, many businesses from Chinatown in Los Angeles began to open locations in Monterey Park, which provided a major boost to the local economy.

The economy of Monterey Park, California is based heavily on education and retail. The largest employer in the city is East Los Angeles College, part of California's community college system. This college employs nearly 2,000 people, and educates thousands of students every year, preparing many of them to go on to four-year universities. Some of these students go on to become successful Monterey Park, California attorneys.

If you are in need of legal advice in Monterey Park, California, there are plenty of lawyers in Monterey Park who can help you with whatever legal problem you might face.

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