Litigation Lawyers in Glendive

The civil litigation system in Glendive, Montana is designed to provide compensation for persons who are injured because of the unlawful conduct of others. It is not much concerned with punishing or deterring wrongdoers.

There is an exception to this basic rule, however: in certain cases, a court in Glendive, Montana will award damages designed to punish the wrongdoer, and deter others from future wrongdoing. This practice is known as "punitive damages."

You should be cognizant that courts in Glendive, Montana are not especially fond of authorizing punitive damages, because they view it as a financial windfall that generally runs counter to civil litigation's primary purpose of compensating victims of wrongdoing for the harm they've suffered. However, if the conduct of the defendant was completely reprehensible and the harm caused was deliberate, a court might impose damages to punish the defendant, known as "punitive damages."

Conduct that can give rise to punitive damages in Glendive, Montana

Mostly personal injury cases in Glendive, Montana involve injuries that the defendant did not intend to cause, but was still at fault in causing them (through negligence, for instance). In Glendive, Montana, this is not enough to justify the award of punitive damages.

Punitive Damages in Glendive, Montana are only awarded in cases where the conduct of the plaintiff was intentional and highly immoral, or extremely reckless. In Glendive, Montana, torts such as fraud, gross negligence, and theft are sufficient to award punitive damages. Courts consider numerous factors when deciding whether or not punitive damages are warranted. Courts will look at the nature of the act, as well as the defendant's intent in performing the act. This will be weighed, on a sliding scale, against the actual harm that the defendant's conduct caused to the plaintiff.

You should be cognizant of the fact that there are some pretty severe limits on punitive damages in Glendive, Montana. The U.S. Supreme Court has found that there are constitutional limits on punitive damage awards. Punitive damages can't be too disproportionate to the actual damages that the plaintiff has suffered. Appeals courts have found that excessive punitive damage awards violate the defendant's right to due process, by depriving them of large amounts of property.

In general, punitive damages in Glendive, Montana cannot be more than 10 times larger than the actual damages sustained by the plaintiff. Nonetheless, this is not an absolute rule, and appeals courts in Montana have upheld much larger awards, and found much smaller awards to be invalid. It's decided on a case-by-case basis.

How Can a Glendive, Montana Attorney Help?

In Glendive, Montana, there are a large variety of situations in which punitive damages are appropriate, because the decision to grant punitive damages is largely up to the discretion of the jury.

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