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Simple English definitions for legal terms
statutory damages
Read a random definition: price-level-adjusted mortgage
A quick definition of statutory damages:
Statutory damages are a type of compensation that is already decided by the law. They are given to someone who has been hurt or lost something because of someone else's actions. This is used when it is hard to figure out how much harm was done. For example, if someone copies a song without permission, the owner of the song can choose to get a set amount of money instead of trying to figure out how much money they lost. The law says how much money they can get, and it can be more if the person who copied the song did it on purpose. It can also be less if they didn't know they were doing something wrong.
A more thorough explanation:
Statutory damages are a type of compensation that is pre-established by law and awarded to a plaintiff in a successful claim. They are commonly used in areas of the law where it is difficult to determine the exact amount of harm or loss caused to the plaintiff.
For example, in a copyright infringement lawsuit, the Copyright Act allows the copyright owner to choose to recover statutory damages instead of actual damages and profits. The amount of statutory damages can range from $750 to $30,000, depending on the court's decision. If the infringement was committed willfully, the court may increase the award of statutory damages to up to $150,000. If the infringer was not aware that their actions constituted an infringement of copyright, the court may reduce the award of statutory damages to a minimum of $200.
Another example of statutory damages is in cases of discrimination. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 allows for a range of statutory damages to be awarded to a plaintiff who has been discriminated against based on their race, gender, or other protected characteristics. The amount of damages can range from $50,000 to $300,000, depending on the size of the employer and the severity of the discrimination.
These examples illustrate how statutory damages provide a pre-established amount of compensation to a plaintiff, making it easier to determine the appropriate amount of damages in complex cases where actual damages may be difficult to calculate.