Cutting Down Damages Awards in Timber Trespass Cases

The Alaska Supreme Court recently heard two cases addressing damages awards for timber trespass claims. Both cases, Wiersum v. Harder and Chung v. Park , emphasized the difficulty of obtaining restoration damages and the close scrutiny given to the size of the damages award itself. This Note explores the history of timber trespass and the current method by which courts determine the appropriate damages award. The Note also proposes a possible alternative to the current reticence toward restoration damages in which the plaintiff may elect to receive restoration damages but would be required to use those damages to restore their trees

An Exploration of “Non-Economic” Damages in Civil Jury Awards

Using three primary data sources plus three supplemental sources discussed in an appendix, this paper examines how well non-economic damages could be predicted by economic damages and at how the ratio of non-economic damages to economic damages changed as the magnitude of the economic damages awarded by juries increased. We found a mixture of consistent and inconsistent patterns across our various datasets. One fairly consistent pattern was the tendency for the ratio of non-economic to economic damages to decline as the amount of economic damages increased. Moreover, the variability of the ratio also tended to decline as the amount of economic damages increased. We found less consistency in our simple regression models where we predicted the log of noneconomic damages from the log of economic damages. In all of those models, the slopes of the fitted line were positive, but the slopes and the measures of fit (r2) varied from dataset to dataset, and among type of case within those datasets with multiple case types. Also, where we had the same type of case across datasets, we found variation in the fit and slope. With two of the datasets we were able to extend our regression models with regard to medical malpractice cases. Using the RAND jury study from 1995-99 we were able to separate out California’s medical malpractice cases which were governed by the MICRA cap on noneconomic damages from the cases coming from five other states included in the study. We found that MICRA dampened the relationship between economic and non-economic damages. Using the data we coded from on Cook County, Illinois jury verdicts, we were able to expand our regression model to include the NAIC severity index plus the gender and age of the plaintiff. We found no evidence that the two demographic variables systematically influenced the amount of non-economic damages, but the severity of injury did make a difference. Most importantly, we found that the severity of the injury conditioned the relationship between economic and non-economic damages

Recovery of “Intrinsic Value” Damages in Case of Negligently Killed Pet Dog

The North Carolina Court of Appeals, in a case where negligent killing of a pet dog with no market value was admitted, has denied recovery of “intrinsic” damages (also called “actual” damages). Shera v. NC State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, 723 S.E.2d 352 (N.C. App. 2012). Because the holding is narrow and the type of damages denied are not the same as emotional damages, a close look at the decision is warranted

Detailed analysis of the cell-inactivation mechanism by accelerated protons and light ions

Published survival data for V79 cells irradiated by monoenergetic protons, helium-3, carbon, and oxygen ions and for CHO cells irradiated by carbon ions have been analyzed using the probabilistic two-stage model of cell inactivation. Three different classes of DNA damages formed by traversing particles have been distinguished, namely severe single-track damages which might lead to cell inactivation directly, less severe damages where cell inactivation is caused by their combinations, and damages of negligible severity that can be repaired easily. Probabilities of single ions to form these damages have been assessed in dependence on their linear energy transfer (LET) values. Damage induction probabilities increase with atomic number and LET. While combined damages play crucial role at lower LET values, single-track damages dominate in high-LET regions. The yields of single-track lethal damages for protons have been compared with the Monte Carlo estimates of complex DNA lesions, indicating that lethal events correlate well with complex DNA double-strand breaks. The decrease in the single-track damage probability for protons of LET above approx. 30 keV/$\mu$m, suggested by limited experimental evidence, is discussed, together with the consequent differences in the mechanisms of biological effects between protons and heavier ions. Applications of the results in hadrontherapy treatment planning are outlined.Comment: submitted to Physics in Medicine and Biolog

The Frequency, Predictability, and Proportionality of Jury Awards of Punitive Damages in State Courts in 2005: A New Audit

The state of punitive damages in the United States has been a controversial topic for more than three decades, resulting in litigation reaching the U.S. Supreme Court and state supreme courts. Various business advocacy groups have sought to drastically curb or eliminate punitive damages while plaintiffs’ lawyers and consumer groups vigorously defend the use of punitive damages. State legislatures have responded with many substantive and procedural reforms over the years. Yet, in Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, the United States Supreme Court, while approvingly citing empirical evidence indicating that there are “not mass-produced runaway awards” and that “by most accounts the median ratio of punitive to compensatory awards has remained less than 1:1, once again expressed concerns about punitive awards exceeding a single-digit ratio to compensatory damages and the predictability of punitive awards. A full understanding of the issues involved in the punitive damages controversy requires consideration of the causes of action, the magnitude of both compensatory and punitive claims, the ratios of these two outcomes, and a qualitative understanding of the nature of punitive awards. This article presents a profile of punitive damages awarded by juries in 2005 using the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics’ Civil Justice Survey of State Courts. We supplement the BJS survey with an additional sample of punitive damages claims from nine states in 2005. This additional database provides more details about the disputes and procedural matters associated with the trials. The data show that there are case-type patterns in the awarding of punitive damages that contradict claims about punitive awards, especially those involving product liability cases, and that the ratio of punitive to compensatory damages is a complex matter not easily resolved without consideration of the underlying factual bases of the claims

Reliance Remedies at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes

Examines situations in which the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes has awarded damages for the cost of the investment, which may be compared to the contract law concept of reliance damages. Notes that this measure of damages is often used where lost profits are difficult to calculate because of the speculative nature of the future investment

The Frequency, Predictability, and Proportionality of Jury Awards of Punitive Damages in State Courts in 2005: A New Audit

The state of punitive damages in the United States has been a controversial topic for more than three decades, resulting in litigation reaching the U.S. Supreme Court and state supreme courts. Various business advocacy groups have sought to drastically curb or eliminate punitive damages while plaintiffs’ lawyers and consumer groups vigorously defend the use of punitive damages. State legislatures have responded with many substantive and procedural reforms over the years. Yet, in Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, the United States Supreme Court, while approvingly citing empirical evidence indicating that there are “not mass-produced runaway awards” and that “by most accounts the median ratio of punitive to compensatory awards has remained less than 1:1, once again expressed concerns about punitive awards exceeding a single-digit ratio to compensatory damages and the predictability of punitive awards. A full understanding of the issues involved in the punitive damages controversy requires consideration of the causes of action, the magnitude of both compensatory and punitive claims, the ratios of these two outcomes, and a qualitative understanding of the nature of punitive awards. This article presents a profile of punitive damages awarded by juries in 2005 using the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics’ Civil Justice Survey of State Courts. We supplement the BJS survey with an additional sample of punitive damages claims from nine states in 2005. This additional database provides more details about the disputes and procedural matters associated with the trials. The data show that there are case-type patterns in the awarding of punitive damages that contradict claims about punitive awards, especially those involving product liability cases, and that the ratio of punitive to compensatory damages is a complex matter not easily resolved without consideration of the underlying factual bases of the claims

unreinforced masonry buildings

A recent earthquake of M=4.9 occurred on 29 October 2007 in C, ameli, Denizli, which is located in a seismically active region at southwest Anatolia, Turkey. It has caused extensive damages at unreinforced masonry buildings like many other cases observed in Turkey during other previous earthquakes. Most of the damaged structures were non-engineered, seismically deficient, unreinforced masonry buildings. This paper presents a site survey of these damaged buildings. In addition to typical masonry damages, some infrequent, event-specific damages were also observed. Reasons for the relatively wide spread damages considering the magnitude of the event are discussed in the paper