Aggravated, Exemplary and Restitutionary ... - Law Commission
Aggravated, Exemplary and Restitutionary ... - Law Commission
Aggravated, Exemplary and Restitutionary ... - Law Commission
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
punitive damages should survive for the benefit of the estate of the victim, 47<br />
but<br />
not against the estate of the wrongdoer. 48<br />
Where a defendant’s conduct constitutes<br />
wrongs against two or more persons (a ‘multiple plaintiff’ case) punitive damages<br />
should only be awarded to the first of those persons to claim them successfully, 49<br />
<strong>and</strong> where they are so awarded, the court should ensure that the aggregate award<br />
does not constitute excessive punishment. 50<br />
1.23 We should emphasise that, in our view, if the above package of reforms were<br />
accepted, the impact on the administration <strong>and</strong> funding of civil justice would not<br />
be significantly adverse. Successful claims should be rare if, as we propose,<br />
punitive damages are reserved for cases of seriously wrongful conduct which has<br />
not been dealt with adequately (or at all) by another means. The legislative<br />
scheme which we propose, coupled with case law interpretation, should provide a<br />
set of clear, <strong>and</strong> restrictive, principles governing when awards may be made. And<br />
the prospects of a substantial increase in litigation to obtain a new financial<br />
‘windfall’ should be further reduced, if, as we would expect, judicial assessment of<br />
punitive damages would lead to moderate, as well as consistent <strong>and</strong> reasonably<br />
predictable, awards in the rare cases in which they were made.<br />
4. SOME PRACTICAL EXAMPLES<br />
1.24 It may prove helpful at this stage to provide some practical examples of situations<br />
in which, applying our proposals, punitive damages would be an available remedy<br />
(subject to there being no criminal conviction or adequate other remedy). These<br />
are, in other words, situations which illustrate the practical need for the last resort<br />
remedy of punitive damages. Examples (1)-(4) are all cases in which exemplary<br />
damages are probably currently available. Examples (5)-(10) are all cases in which<br />
exemplary damages could not be claimed under the present law. 51<br />
(1) Police officers arrest <strong>and</strong> detain a man without grounds for suspecting that<br />
he has committed any offence. In the course of his arrest <strong>and</strong> detention,<br />
manifestly unnecessary <strong>and</strong> excessive force is used against him. The<br />
officers involved then fabricate evidence against the man. A prosecution is<br />
brought, but fails. The man claims damages for false imprisonment,<br />
assault <strong>and</strong> malicious prosecution.<br />
(2) A local newspaper publishes a sensationalist story, knowing it to be false,<br />
about a local school-teacher who had a sexual relationship with <strong>and</strong> caused<br />
to become pregnant a pupil under the age of consent. The newspaper does<br />
so in the expectation that the teacher will be unlikely to wish to sue for<br />
defamation, <strong>and</strong> that even if he does so, the general boost to the paper’s<br />
46 See paras 5.234-5.273, recommendation (42), <strong>and</strong> draft Bill, clause 9(1), below. Cf also<br />
recommendation (43) <strong>and</strong> draft Bill, clause 9(2), below.<br />
47 See paras 5.274-5.275, recommendation (44), <strong>and</strong> draft Bill, clause 14(1)-14(3), below.<br />
48 See paras 5.276-5.278, recommendation (45), <strong>and</strong> draft Bill, clause 14(1) <strong>and</strong> 14(3), below.<br />
49 See paras 5.159-5.185 (especially paras 5.162-5.167), recommendations (30) <strong>and</strong> (31), <strong>and</strong><br />
draft Bill, clause 7(1) <strong>and</strong> 7(4), below.<br />
50 See paras 5.168-5.171, recommendation (32), <strong>and</strong> draft Bill, clause 7(3), below.<br />
51 See para 1.2 above <strong>and</strong> in particular paras 4.2-4.28, 4.47, below.<br />
7