CACI 3924 No Punitive Damages
California Civil Jury Instructions CACI
3924 No Punitive Damages
You must not include in your award any damages to punish or make an example of [name of defendant]. Such damages would be punitive damages, and they cannot be a part of your verdict. You must award only the damages that fairly compensate [name of plaintiff] for [his/her/nonbinary pronoun/its] loss.
Directions for Use
Do not use this instruction if punitive damages are being sought in the phase of the trial in which these instructions are given.
Sources and Authority
•No Governmental Liability for Punitive Damages. Government Code section 818.
•“Punitive damages are not permitted in wrongful death actions.” (Cortez v. Macias (1980) 110 Cal.App.3d 640, 657 [167 Cal.Rptr. 905].)
•“[P]unitive damages are prohibited in an action against a public entity.” (Pearl v. City of Los Angeles (2019) 36 Cal.App.5th 475, 486 [248 Cal.Rptr.3d 508].)
•“The punitive damages theory cannot be predicated on the breach of contract cause of action without an underlying tort.” (Palmer v. Ted Stevens Honda, Inc. (1987) 193 Cal.App.3d 530, 536 [238 Cal.Rptr. 363], internal citations omitted.)
•“An award of punitive damages is not supported by a verdict based on breach of contract, even where the defendant’s conduct in breaching the contract was wilful, fraudulent, or malicious. Even in those cases in which a separate tort action is alleged, if there is ‘but one verdict based upon contract’ a punitive damage award is improper.” (Myers Building Industries, Ltd. v. Interface Technology, Inc. (1993) 13 Cal.App.4th 949, 960 [17 Cal.Rptr.2d 242], internal citations omitted.)