Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the availability of maritime punitive damages claims in Atlantic Sounding v. Townsend, 557 U.S. 404 (2009), maritime plaintiffs have fought tirelessly to see where else they can carve out from under the Jones Act’s prohibition from punitive damages. Recall that in Townsend, the Supreme Court recognized
Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend
Calming the Storm Tossed Waters: The Availability of Punitive Damages to the Jones Act Seaman Post McBride
By Kean Miller on
Posted in Admiralty and Maritime
A. Introduction to Punitive Damages
Pecuniary damages are awards designed to restore “material loss which is susceptible of pecuniary valuation.” Michigan Central Railroad. Co. v. Vreeland, 227 U.S. 59, 71, 33 S.Ct. 192, 57, L.Ed. 417 (1913). Punitive or exemplary damages do not compensate for a loss; instead, they are imposed to punish the…