Am Jur 2d - Damages § 24

III. Compensatory Damages, A. Overview, 1. Definitions, § 24 - Compensatory damages

Compensatory damages are intended to redress the concrete loss that the plaintiff has suffered by reason of the defendant's wrongful conduct.[1] Their objective is to repair the damage caused to one party by the wrong of another.[2] In both contract and tort actions, compensatory damages are awarded for the purpose of making the injured party whole[3] by reimbursing,[4] compensating,[5] or indemnifying[6] him or her for the loss or harm suffered, to the extent that it is possible to measure his or her injury in terms of money.[7] The term covers all loss recoverable as a matter of right and includes all damages (beyond nominal damages) other than punitive or exemplary damages.[8]

Observation:

Compensatory damages, as opposed to criminal sanctions, are not a form of punishment.[9]

Cases:

Compensatory damages indemnify the plaintiff for injury to property, loss of time, necessary expenses, and other actual losses; they are proportionate or equal in measure or extent to plaintiff's injuries, or such as measure the actual loss, and are given as amends therefor. Brooks v. City of Huntington, 768 S.E.2d 97 (W. Va. 2014) .

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1 Cooper Industries, Inc. v. Leatherman Tool Group, Inc., 532 U.S. 424, 121 S. Ct. 1678, 149 L. Ed. 2d 674 (2001) ; Arnold v. Wilder, 657 F.3d 353, 86 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 664 (6th Cir. 2011) ; Qwest Services Corp. v. Blood, 252 P.3d 1071 (Colo. 2011) , as modified on denial of reh'g, (June 20, 2011) and cert. dismissed, 132 S. Ct. 1087, 181 L. Ed. 2d 805 (2012) .
Compensatory damages are awarded to a person in satisfaction of or in response to a loss or injury sustained. Calise v. Hidden Valley Condominium Ass'n, Inc., 773 A.2d 834 (R.I. 2001) .

2 RJAM, Inc. v. Miletello, 103 So. 3d 503 (La. Ct. App. 2d Cir. 2012) (breach of contract); MBIA Ins. Corp. v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 34 Misc. 3d 895, 936 N.Y.S.2d 513 (Sup 2012) , aff'd as modified, 105 A.D.3d 412, 963 N.Y.S.2d 21 (1st Dep't 2013) .

3 § 28 .

4 Ex parte S & M, LLC, 2012 WL 6062565 (Ala. 2012) .

5 Gateway Foam Insulators, Inc. v. Jokerst Paving & Contracting, Inc., 279 S.W.3d 179 (Mo. 2009) .

6 Fairways Offshore Exploration, Inc. v. Patterson Services, Inc., 355 S.W.3d 296 (Tex. App. Houston 1st Dist. 2011) .

7 R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Townsend, 90 So. 3d 307 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012) , review denied, 110 So. 3d 441 (Fla. 2013) and review dismissed, 110 So. 3d 442 (Fla. 2013) ; Crutcher v. Harrod Concrete and Stone Co., 2013 WL 1163945 (Ky. Ct. App. 2013) .

8 Comer v. Age-Herald Pub. Co., 151 Ala. 613, 44 So. 673 (1907) ; Carmichael v. Bell Telephone Co., 157 N.C. 21, 72 S.E. 619 (1911) ; Shebester, Inc. v. Ford, 1961 OK 67, 361 P.2d 200 (Okla. 1961) ; News Leader Co. v. Kocen, 173 Va. 95, 3 S.E.2d 385, 122 A.L.R. 842 (1939) ; Baldwin v. Alberti, 58 Wash. 2d 243, 362 P.2d 258 (1961) .

9 Cohen v. Cowles Media Co., 501 U.S. 663, 111 S. Ct. 2513, 115 L. Ed. 2d 586 (1991) .

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