Punitive Damage Awards in State Courts, 2005. Special Report

摘要

This BJS special report examines tort and contract cases concluded by bench or jury trial in which punitive damages were sought or granted in a national sample of state trial courts in 2005. The report on punitive damages in civil trials is the fourth in a series based on data collected from the 2005 Civil Justice Survey of State Courts (CJSSC). The CJSSC examines tort, contract, and real property cases disposed by bench and jury trials in general jurisdiction courts in 2005. Since the CJSSC is based on a 2005 disposition date, many of these cases were filed in prior years, but disposed in 2005. Cases were classified as trials for inclusion in the CJSSC if both litigants appeared at trial, both sides presented contested evidence, at least one litigating party sought monetary damages, and the trial was heard through completion.