damages

damages
    n 1: a sum of money paid in compensation for loss or injury
         [syn: {damages}, {amends}, {indemnity}, {indemnification},
         {restitution}, {redress}]
    

damages \damages\ n. (Law)
   a sum of money paid in compensation for an injury or wrong.

   Syn: amends, indemnity, indemnification, restitution,
        redress.
        [WordNet 1.5]
    

DAMAGES, UNLIQUIDATED. The unascertained amount which is due to a person by 
another for an injury to the person, property, or relative rights of the 
party injured. These damages, being unknown, cannot be set off against the 
claim which the tort feasor has against the party injured. 2 Dall. 237; S. 
C. 1 Yeates, 571; 10 Serg. & Rawle 14; 5 Serg. & Rawle 122. 
    

DAMAGES, practice. The indemnity given by law, to be recovered from a wrong 
doer by the person who has sustained an injury, either in his person, 
property, or relative rights, in consequence of the acts of another. 
     2. Damages are given either for breaches of contracts, or for tortious 
acts. 
     3. Damages for breach of contract may be given, for example, for the 
non-performance of a written or verbal agreement; or of a covenant to do or 
not to do a particular thing. 
     4. As to the measure of damages the general rule is that the delinquent 
shall answer for all the injury which results from the immediate and direct 
breach of his agreement, but not from secondary and remote consequences. 
     5. In cases of an eviction, on covenant of seisin and warranty, the 
rule seems to be to allow the consideration money, with interest and costs. 
6 Watts & Serg. 527; 2 Dev. R. 30; 3 Brev. R. 458. See 7 Shepl. 260; 4 Dev. 
46. But in Massachusetts, on the covenant of warranty, the measure of 
damages is the value of the land at the time of eviction. 4 Kent's Com. 462, 
3, and the cases there cited; 3 Mass. 523; 4 Mass. 108; 1 Bay, 19, 265; 3 
Desaus. Eq. R. 247; 4 Penn. St. R. 168. 
     6. In estimating the measure of damages sustained in consequence of the 
acts of a common carrier, it frequently becomes a question whether the value 
of the goods at the place of embarkation or the port of destination is the 
rule to establish the damages sustained. It has been ruled that the value at 
the port of destination is the proper criterion. 12 S. & R. 186;. 8 John. R. 
213; 10 John. R. 1; 14 John. R. 170; 15 John. R. 24. But contrary decisions 
have taken place. 3 Caines, R. 219 4 Hayw. R. 112; and see 4 Mass. R. 115; 1 
T. R. 31; 4 T. R. 582. 
     7. Damages for tortious acts are given for acts against the person, as 
an assault and battery against the reputation, as libels and slander, 
against the property, as trespass, when force is used; or for the 
consequential acts of the tort-feasor, as, when a man, in consequence of 
building a dam on his own premises, overflows his neighbor's land; or 
against the relative rights of the party injured, as for criminal 
conversation with his wife. 
     8. No settled rule or line of distinction can be marked out when a 
possibility of damages shall be accounted too remote to entitle a party to 
claim a recompense: each case must be ruled by its own circumstances. Ham. 
N. P. 40; Kames on Eq. 73, 74. Vide 7 Vin. Ab. 247; Yelv. 45, a; Id. 176, a; 
Bac. Ab. h.t.; 1 Lilly's Reg. 525; Domat, liv. 3, t. 5, s. 2, n. 4; Toull. 
liv. 3, n. 286; 2 Saund. 107, note; 1 Rawle's Rep. 27; Coop. Just. 606; Com. 
Dig. 11. t.; Bouv. Inst. Index, h.t. See, Cause;  Remote. 
     9. Damages for torts are either compensatory or vindictive. By 
compensatory damages is meant such as are given morely to recompense a party 
who has sustained a loss in consequence of the acts of the defendant, and 
where there are no circumstances to aggravate the act, for the purpose of 
compensating the plaintiff for his loss; as, for example, Where the 
defendant had caused to be seized, property of A for the debt of B, when 
such property was out of A's possession, and there appeared reason to 
believe it was B's. Vindictive damages are such as are given against a 
defendant, who, in addition to the trespass, has been guilty of acts of 
outrage and wrong which cannot well be measured by a compensation in money; 
as, for example, where the defendant went to A's house, and with insult and 
outrage seized upon A's property, for a debt due by B, and carried it away, 
leaving A's family in distress. Sedgw. on Dam. 39; 2 Greenl. Ev. Sec. 253; 1 
Gillis. 483; 12 Conn. 580; 2 M. & S. 77; 4 S. & R. 19; 5 Watts, 375; 5 Watts 
& S. 524; 1 P. S. R. 190, 197. 
    10. In cases of loss of which have been insured from maritime dangers, 
when an adjustment is made, the damages are settled by valuing the property, 
not according to prime cost, but at the price at which it may be sold at the 
time of settling the average. Marsh. Inst. B. 1, c. 14, s. 2, p. 621. See 
Adjustment; Price. 
    

DAMAGES, EXCESSIVE. Such damages as are unreasonably great, and not 
warranted by law. 
     2. The damages are excessive in the following cases: 1. When they are 
greater than is demanded by the writ and declaration. 6 Call 85; 7 Wend. 
330. 2. When they are greater than is authorized by the rules and principles 
of law, as in the case of actions upon contracts, or for torts done to 
property, the value of which may be ascertained by evidence. 4 Mass. 14; 5 
Mass. 435; 6 Halst. 284. 
     3. But in actions for torts to the person or reputation of the 
plaintiff, the damages will not be considered excessive unless they are 
outrageous. 2 A. K. Marsh 365; Hard. 586; 3 Dana, 464; 2 Pick. 113; 7 Pick. 
82; 9 John. 45; 10 John. 443; 4 Mass. 1; 9 Pick. 11; 2 Penn. 578. 
     4. When the damages are excessive, a new trial will be granted on that 
ground. 
    

DAMAGES, LAYING, pleading. In personal and mixed actions, (but not in penal 
actions, for obvious reason,) the declaration must allege, in conclusion, 
that the injury is to the damage of the plaintiff; and must specify the 
amount of damages. Com. Dig. Pleader, C 84; 10 Rep. 116, b. 
     2. In personal actions there is a distinction between actions that 
sound in damages, and those that do not; but in either of these cases, it is 
equally the practice to lay damages. There is, however, this difference: 
that, in the former case, damages are the main object of the suit, and are, 
therefore, always laid high enough to cover the whole demand; but in the 
latter, the liquidated debt, or the chattel demanded, being the main object, 
damages are claimed in respect of the detention only, of such debt or 
chattel; and are, therefore, usually laid at a small sum. The plaintiff 
cannot recover greater damages than he has laid in the conclusion of his 
declaration. Com. Dig. Pleader, C 84; 10 Rep. 117, a, b; Vin. Ab. Damages, 
R. 
     3. In real actions, no damages are to be laid, because, in these, the 
demand is specially for the land withheld, and damages are in no degree the 
object of the suit. Steph. Pl. 426; 1 Chit. Pl. 397 to 400. 
    

DAMAGES, DOUBLE or TREBLE, practice. In cases where a statute gives a party 
double or treble damages, the jury are to find single damages, and the court 
to enhance them, according to the statute Bro. Ab. Damages, pl. 70; 2 Inst. 
416; 1 Wils. 126; 1 Mass. 155. In Sayer on Damages, p. 244, it is said, the 
jury may assess the statute damages and it would seem from some of the 
modern cases, that either the jury or the court may assess. Say. R. 214; 1 
Gallis. 29. 
    

DAMAGES, GENERAL, torts. General damages are such as the law implies to have 
accrued from the act of a tort-feasor. To call a man a thief, or commit an 
assault and battery upon his person, are examples of this kind. In the first 
case the law presumes that calling a man a thief must be injurious to him, 
with showing that it is so. Sir W. Jones, 196; 1 Saund. 243, b. n. 5; and in 
the latter case, the law implies that his person has been more or less 
deteriorated, and that the injured party is not required to specify what 
injury he has sustained, nor to prove it. Ham. N. P. 40; 1 Chit. Pl. 386; 2 
L.R. 76; 4 Bouv. Inst. n. 3584. 
    

DAMAGES, LIQUIDATED, contracts. When the parties to a contract stipulate for 
the payment of a certain sum, as a satisfaction fixed and agreed upon by 
them, for the not doing of certain things particularly mentioned in the 
agreement, the sum so fixed upon is called liquidated damages. (q.v.) It 
differ from a penalty, because the latter is a forfeiture from which the 
defaulting party can be relieved. An agreement for liquidated damages can 
only be when there is an engagement for the performance of certain acts, the 
not doing of which would be an injury to one of the parties; or to guard 
against the performance of acts which, if done, would also be injurious. In 
such cases an estimate of the damages may be made by a jury, or by a 
previous agreement between the parties, who may foresee the consequences of 
a breach of the engagement, and stipulate accordingly. 1 H. Bl. 232; and 
vide 2 Bos. & Pul. 335, 350-355; 2 Bro. P. C. 431; 4 Burr, 2225; 2 T. R. 32. 
The civil law appears to agree with these principles. Inst. 3, 16, 7; Toull. 
liv. 3, n. 809; Civil Code of Louis. art. 1928, n. 5; Code Civil, 1152, 
1153. 
     2. It is to be observed, that the sum fixed upon will be considered as 
liquidated damages, or a penalty, according to the intent of the parties, 
and the more use of the words "penalty," &c "forfeiture," or "liquidated 
damages," will not be regarded is at all decisive of the question, if the 
instrument discloses, upon the whole, a different intent. 2 Story, Eq. Sec. 
1318; 6 B.& C. 224; 6 Bing. 141; 6 Iredell, 186; 3  Shepl. 273; 2 Ala. 425; 
8 Misso. 467. 
     3. Rules have been adopted to ascertain whether such sum so agreed upon 
shall be considered a penalty or liquidated damages, which will be here 
enumerated by considering, first, those cases where it has been considered 
as a penalty and, secondly, where it has been considered as liquidated 
damages. 
     4.-1. It has been treated as penalty, 1st. where the parties in the 
agreement have expressly declared the sum intended as a forfeiture or a 
penalty, and no other intent can be collected from the instrument. 2 B. & P, 
340, 350, 630; 1 McMullan, 106; 2 Ala. 425; 5 Metc. 61; 1 H. Bl. 227; 1 
Campb. 78; 7 Wheat. 14; 1 Pick. 451; 4 Pick. 179; 3 Johns. Cas. 297. 2d. 
Where it is doubtful whether it was intended as a penalty or not, and a 
certain debt or damages, less than the penalty, is made payable on the face 
of the instrument. 3 C. & P. 240; 6 Humph. 186. 3d. Where the agreement was 
made, evidently, for the attainment of another object, to which the sum 
specified is wholly collateral. 11 Mass. 76; 15 Mass. 488; 1 Bro. C. C. 418. 
4th. Where the agreement contains several matters, of different degrees of 
importance, and yet the sum named is payable for the breach of any, even the 
least. 6 Bing. 141; 5 Bing. N. C. 390; 7 Scott, 364; sed vide, 7 John. 72; 
15 John. 200. 5th. Where the contract is not under seal, and the damages are 
capable of being certainly known and estimated. 2 B. & Al. 704; 6 B. & C. 
216; 1 M. & Malk. 41; 4 Dall. 150; 5 Cowen, 144. 
     5.-2. The sum agreed upon has been considered as liquidated damages, 
1st. Where the damages are uncertain, and are not capable of being 
ascertained by any satisfactory and known rule. 2 T. R. 32; 1 Alc. & Nap. 
389; 2 Burr, 2225; 10 Ves. 429; 3 M. & W. 545; 8 Mass. 223; 3 C. & P. 240; 7 
Cowen 307; 4 Wend. 468. 2d. Where, from the tenor of the agreement, or from 
the nature of the case, it appears that the parties have ascertained the 
amount of damages by fair calculation and adjustment. 2 Story, Eq. Juris. 
Sec. 1318; 10 Mass. 459; 7 John. 72; 15 John. 200; 1 Bing. 302; 7 Conn. 291; 
13 Wend. 507; 2 Greenl. Ev. Sec. 259; 11 N. H. Rep. 234; 6 Blackf. 206; 26 
Wend. 630; 17 Wend. 447; 22 Wend. 201; 7 Metc. 583; 2 Ala. 425; 2 Shepl. 
250. 
     Vide, generally, 7 Vin. Ab. 247; 16 Vin. Ab. 58; 2 W. Bl. Rep. 1190;. 
Coop. Just. 606; 1 Chit. Pr. 872; 2 Atk. 194; Finch. 117; Prec. in Ch. 102; 
2 Bro. P. C. 436; Fonbl. 151, 2, note; Chit. Contr. 836; 11 N. Hamp. Rep. 
234. 
    

DAMAGES, SPECIAL, pleading. As distinguished from the gist of the action, 
signify that special damage which is stated to result from the gist; as, if 
a plaintiff in an action of trespass for breaking his close, entering his 
house, and tossing his goods about, were to state that by means of the 
damage done to his house, he was obliged to seek lodging elsewhere. 
     2. Sometimes the special damage is said to constitute the gist of the 
action itself; for example, in an action wherein the plaintiff declares for 
slanderous words, which of themselves are not a sufficient ground or 
foundation for the suit, if any particular damage result to the plaintiff 
from the speaking of them, that damage is properly said to be the gist of 
the action. 
     3. But whether special damage be the gist of the action, or only 
collateral to it, it must be particularly stated in the declaration, as the 
plaintiff will not otherwise be permitted to go into evidence of it at the 
trial, because the defendant cannot also be prepared to answer it. Willes, 
23. See Gist. 
    

DAMAGES, SPECIAL, torts. Special damages are such as are in fact sustained, 
and are not implied by law; these are either superadded to general damages, 
arising from an act injurious in itself, as when some particular loss 
arises. from the uttering of slanderous words, actionable in themselves, or 
are such as arise from an act indifferent and not actionable in itself, but 
injurious only in its consequences, as when the words become actionable only 
by reason of special damage ensuing. To constitute special damage the legal 
and natural consequence must arise from the tort, and not be a mere wrongful 
act of a third person, or a remote consequence. 1 Camp. 58; Ham. N. P. 40; 1 
Chit. Pl. 385, 6. 
    

37 Moby Thesaurus words for "damages":
      amends, amercement, atonement, blood money, compensation,
      consideration, distraint, distress, escheat, escheatment, fine,
      forfeit, forfeiture, guerdon, honorarium, indemnification,
      indemnity, meed, mulct, price, quittance, recompense, redress,
      remuneration, reparation, requital, requitement, restitution,
      retribution, return, reward, salvage, satisfaction, sconce,
      smart money, solatium, wergild