Remedies Flashcards
What are the two principle remedies in tort?
Injunctions and damages
Which is the more common of injunctions and damages?
Damages by far
What are damages?
Compensation to put D back in the position they were in before D’s tortious act
What is meant by aggravated damages?
Awarded in exceptional cases, still compensatory damages, but the damages awarded will be of a greater sum to compensate serious injury to the claimant beyond that regarded as normal
What are the 3 types of non-compensatory damages?
1) Nominal
2) Contemptuous
3) Examplary
What is meant by nominal damages?
Awarded where the case is proved but the claimant has not actually suffered any loss. Such damages merely illustrate that the claim has succeeded.
What is meant by contemptuous damages?
A very small award (eg 1p) awarded when the court technically gives judgment for the claimant but wishes to indicate that the case was without merit and should not have been brought.
What is meant by exemplary damages?
Instead of being compensatory, this form of damages is designed to be punitive. Might be considered in cases of unconstitutional action by servants of the government, where the D’s conduct has been calculated to make a profit or where a statute has expressly sanctioned payment of exemplary damages.
What are the categories the two usual types of damages divided into?
General and special
What do special damages cover?
Specifically provable and quantifiable financial losses.
What do general damages cover?
Future financial losses, which cannot be specifically proven, and non-quantifiable losses such as compensation for physical injury.
Example case for special damages?
British Transport Commission v Gourley [1956]
What is the approach with continuing losses, such as recurring medical expenses?
The basic approach is to take the annual expense and multiply it by the number of years the loss will continue to be suffered. This is known as the multiplier/multiplicand approach.
Why is the multiplier approach not used in the basic sense?
C’s life expectancy or predicted number of years they will continue working would be unrealistic. The court is wary to avoid over compensation.
Works on the assumption that the lump sum award it will make will be invested and the figure it awards, in effect, aims to provide C with a sufficient income from the investment to replace what they have lost.
If an actual number of years were to be used as a multiplier, the sum awarded, when invested, would result in the C being massively over-compensated.
What are two common incidences of deductions from damages?
1) State benefits received as a result of the damage (unemployment benefit if they are prevented from working etc)
2) Contributory negligence
