Weston Law Firm, P.A.
Damages
a
a
a
The
Plaintiff
in a civil
action may seek damages to compensate him or her for losses
suffered. There are a number of different damage catagories, as
explained below:
Actual (compensatory) damages
The terms actual damages and compensatory damages refer to the same thing. They are damages meant to "make the Plaintiff whole", that is to compensate the Plaintiff for the losses suffered. They include both tangible losses such as out-of-pocket expenses, as well as intangible losses such as pain and suffering.
Examples of losses for which actual damages may be awarded are:
Medical bills
Lost wages and future lost earning capacity
Pain and suffering
Loss of enjoyment of life
Permanent disfigurement
Property damage
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are designed to punish the Defendant. Punitive damages are only available in cases where the Plaintiff proves that the Defendant's conduct went beyond mere negligence (carelessness), and instead rose to the level of malice, willfulness, or recklessness. The idea behind punitive damages is that the Defendant's conduct was so "extreme" or elevated as to warrant punishment in the form of money paid to the Plaintiff. Another rationale for punitive damages is that they will send a message to the community as a whole concerning the type of behavior that will not be tolerated in society.
If punitive damages are proved, they are awarded separate from and in addition to the actual damages. In recent years, the Courts have been placing limits on the amount of punitive damages that may be awarded, due to the fact that juries were awarding punitive damage amounts that had no rational or reasonable connection to the amount of actual damages awarded.
Attorney fees and costs
In general, attorney fees are not recoverable in a civil action in South Carolina. Instead, South Carolina follows what is known as the "American Rule", under which each party is expected to pay their own attorney fees. There are two exceptions to this rule. The first is where a statute specifically provides for the recovery of attorney fees, in which case attorney fees may be recoverable if the statute in question applies to the facts of the case. The second exception is where the parties have agreed in writing that attorney fees would be recoverable, such as in the case of an apartment lease which provides that the landlord can recover attorney fees in case the landlord has to file a lawsuit against the tenant for a breach of the lease.
The winning side to a lawsuit is entitled to recover some limited costs, such as subpoena fees and court filing costs. Usually those type of costs amount to a few hundred dollars at most. Many other types of costs are not recoverable, such as expert fees, deposition costs and the like, and often total far more than the recoverable costs. Just as in the case of attorney fees, some statutes may provide for the recovery of certain costs if the statutes apply to the facts of the case, and the parties may also agree in writing that costs will be recoverable, such as in the landlord-tenant lease example mentioned above.
Actual (compensatory) damages
The terms actual damages and compensatory damages refer to the same thing. They are damages meant to "make the Plaintiff whole", that is to compensate the Plaintiff for the losses suffered. They include both tangible losses such as out-of-pocket expenses, as well as intangible losses such as pain and suffering.
Examples of losses for which actual damages may be awarded are:
Medical bills
Lost wages and future lost earning capacity
Pain and suffering
Loss of enjoyment of life
Permanent disfigurement
Property damage
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are designed to punish the Defendant. Punitive damages are only available in cases where the Plaintiff proves that the Defendant's conduct went beyond mere negligence (carelessness), and instead rose to the level of malice, willfulness, or recklessness. The idea behind punitive damages is that the Defendant's conduct was so "extreme" or elevated as to warrant punishment in the form of money paid to the Plaintiff. Another rationale for punitive damages is that they will send a message to the community as a whole concerning the type of behavior that will not be tolerated in society.
If punitive damages are proved, they are awarded separate from and in addition to the actual damages. In recent years, the Courts have been placing limits on the amount of punitive damages that may be awarded, due to the fact that juries were awarding punitive damage amounts that had no rational or reasonable connection to the amount of actual damages awarded.
Attorney fees and costs
In general, attorney fees are not recoverable in a civil action in South Carolina. Instead, South Carolina follows what is known as the "American Rule", under which each party is expected to pay their own attorney fees. There are two exceptions to this rule. The first is where a statute specifically provides for the recovery of attorney fees, in which case attorney fees may be recoverable if the statute in question applies to the facts of the case. The second exception is where the parties have agreed in writing that attorney fees would be recoverable, such as in the case of an apartment lease which provides that the landlord can recover attorney fees in case the landlord has to file a lawsuit against the tenant for a breach of the lease.
The winning side to a lawsuit is entitled to recover some limited costs, such as subpoena fees and court filing costs. Usually those type of costs amount to a few hundred dollars at most. Many other types of costs are not recoverable, such as expert fees, deposition costs and the like, and often total far more than the recoverable costs. Just as in the case of attorney fees, some statutes may provide for the recovery of certain costs if the statutes apply to the facts of the case, and the parties may also agree in writing that costs will be recoverable, such as in the landlord-tenant lease example mentioned above.
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