NJ Legislature Should Allow Fee Awards for Plaintiffs in Defamation Actions
By considering attorney fees to be actual damages, successful defamation plaintiffs, who would otherwise only be able to obtain nominal damages, would also be able to seek punitive relief.
January 11, 2019 at 12:00 PM
9 minute read
What is a reputation worth? In defamation cases, juries are tasked with answering this very question. In New Jersey, actual, punitive and presumed damages can be awarded to vindicate a person's reputation.
Actual damages, also known as compensatory damages, “are intended to compensate the plaintiff for the wrong done by the defamatory speech.” Nuwave Investment Corp. v. Hyman Beck & Co., 221 N.J. 495, 499 (2015). There are two types of actual damages, specific and general. Specific damages “compensate a plaintiff for specific economic or pecuniary loss.” Id. General damages are those “not capable of precise monetary calculation” and “can include harm caused by impairment to reputation and standing in the community, along with personal humiliation, mental anguish, and suffering to the extent that they flow from the reputational injury.” Id. (Internal quotation marks and citations omitted.) Importantly, “all compensatory damages, whether considered special or general, depend on showing of actual harm, demonstrated through competent evidence, and may not include a damage award presumed by the jury.” Id.
In cases where no actual damages can be proven, the court can award presumed damages “to vindicate the dignitary and peace-of-mind interest in one's reputation that may be impaired through the misuse of the Internet.” W.J.A. v. D.A., 210 N.J. 229 (2012). However, in W.J.A., the New Jersey Supreme Court limited presumed damages to nominal damages (essentially a dollar). See id. at 249.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Trending Stories
- 1The Law Firm Disrupted: For Big Law Names, Shorter is Sweeter
- 2Wine, Dine and Grind (Through the Weekend): Summer Associates Thirst For Experience in 'Real Matters'
- 3The 'Biden Effect' on Senior Attorneys: Should I Stay or Should I Go?
- 4BD Settles Thousands of Bard Hernia Mesh Lawsuits
- 5First Lawsuit Filed Alleging Contraceptive Depo-Provera Caused Brain Tumor
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250