Nominal Damages and Contemptuous Damages

AuthorJamie Cassels/Elizabeth Adjin-Tettey
ProfessionProfessor of Law, Vice President Academic, and Provost, University of Victoria/Professor of Law, University of Victoria
Pages310-315
CHA PTER 9
NOMINAL DAMAGES
AND CONTEMPTUOUS
DA M AGES
A. NOMINAL DA MAGES
1) Def‌inition and Purpose
Nominal damages ser ve to vindicate the plaint iff’s rights even when
no compen sation is necessary. Nominal damages are a small sum of
money, awarded when the plaintiff is able to establish a cause of action
but has suffered no substantial loss, successfully mitigated the loss, or
is unable to prove what that loss is. The purpose of nominal dam ages is
to serve as a decl aration of t he plaintif f’s right s and a minor deterrent
to the defendant.
McGregor describes the purpose of nominal d amages a s “establish-
ing, determining or protecting a legal right.”1 He states that they are
avail able in two sit uations. The f‌i rst is where the plaintiff proves t hat she
has suffered some wrong, but no loss (or a trif‌ling loss) has a risen f rom
that w rong. The other, and le ss important, situation is when t he plaint iff
has shown there wa s a loss but the “necessary evidence as to its amount
is not given.”2 An ancilla ry rea son for awarding nom inal damages is t hat
they may be a “peg on which to hang costs.”3 This approach is no longer
1 H. McGregor, McGregor on Damages, 17th ed. (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 2003)
at 362 [10-0 08].
2 Ibid. at 360 [10-004].
3 Maule J. in Beaumont v. Greathead (1846), 2 C.B. 494 at 49 9, 135 E.R. 1039.
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