exemplary damages

British

plural noun

law damages awarded to a plaintiff above the value of actual loss sustained so that they serve also as a punishment to the defendant and a deterrent to others

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Attorneys for the tenants are seeking awards for punitive damages or exemplary damages.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 16, 2024

“They appear to remain completely unrepentant about that and it ought, to pick up the language of exemplary damages, be something that shocks the conscience,” Hodge added.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 2, 2024

Tesla is suing Yatskov for compensatory and exemplary damages, and is also seeking a court order that would force Yatskov to return the classified information.

From The Verge • May 7, 2022

Mr Lansdown is seeking financial compensation as well as exemplary damages of up to £76m to "deter" P&O Ferries or DP World from acting the same way in future.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2022

He was well assured that Dr. Jedd could prove very little; and a jury, if properly worked, might award him exemplary damages.

From Charlotte's Inheritance by Braddon, M. E. (Mary Elizabeth)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023