(a) Except as provided in subsections (b), (d), and (j), in all civil actions where an entitlement to punitive damages shall have been established under applicable laws, no award of punitive damages shall exceed three times the compensatory damages of the party claiming punitive damages or five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), whichever is greater.
(b) Except as provided in subsections (d) and (j), in all civil actions where entitlement to punitive damages shall have been established under applicable law against a defendant who is a small business, no award of punitive damages shall exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or 10 percent of the business’ net worth, whichever is greater.
(c) “Small business” for purposes of this section means a business having a net worth of two million dollars ($2,000,000) or less at the time of the occurrence made the basis of the suit.
(d) Except as provided in subsection (j), in all civil actions for physical injury wherein entitlement to punitive damages shall have been established under applicable laws, no award of punitive damages shall exceed three times the compensatory damages of the party claiming punitive damages or one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000), whichever is greater.
(e) Except as provided in Section 6-11-27, no defendant shall be liable for any punitive damages unless that defendant has been expressly found by the trier of fact to have engaged in conduct, as defined in Section 6-11-20, warranting punitive damages, and such defendant shall be liable only for punitive damages commensurate with that defendant’s own conduct.
(f) As to all the fixed sums for punitive damage limitations set out herein in subsections (a), (b), and (d), those sums shall be adjusted as of January 1, 2003, and as of January 1 at three-year intervals thereafter, at an annual rate in accordance with the Consumer Price Index rate.
(g) The jury may neither be instructed nor informed as to the provisions of this section.
(h) This section shall not apply to class actions.
(i) Nothing herein shall be construed as creating a right to an award of punitive damages or to limit the duty of the court, or the appellate courts, to scrutinize all punitive damage awards, ensure that all punitive damage awards comply with applicable procedural, evidentiary, and constitutional requirements, and to order remittitur where appropriate.
(j) This section shall not apply to actions for wrongful death or for intentional infliction of physical injury.
(k) “Physical injury” for purposes of this section, means actual injury to the body of the claimant proximately caused by the act complained of and does not include physical symptoms of the mental anguish or emotional distress for which recovery is sought when such symptoms are caused by, rather than the cause of, the pain, distress, or other mental suffering.
(l) No portion of a punitive damage award shall be allocated to the state or any agency or department of the state.
(Acts 1987, No. 87-185, p. 251, §2; Act 99-358, p. 563, §1.)
Notes of Decisions
Shiv-Ram, Inc. v. McCaleb, 892 So. 2d 299 (Ala. 2004).
· cites it 47× “At the time Henderson was decided, § 6-11-21 provided: "An award of punitive damages shall not exceed $250,000, unless it is based upon one or more of the following: "(1) A pattern or practice of intentional wrongful conduct, even though the damage or injury was inflicted only…”
Henderson by Hartsfield v. Alabama Power, 627 So. 2d 878 (Ala. 1993).
· cites it 39× “APCo moved for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or, in the alternative, for a new trial; and for a "remittitur, or, in the alternative, [a vacation of] the punitive damage[s] award." Henderson, in a "motion for [a] declaratory judgment and for entry of judgment in excess…”
Mobile Infirmary Med. Ctr. v. Hodgen, 884 So. 2d 801 (Ala. 2003).
· cites it 18× “Code 1975, had been declared unconstitutional in 1991 and that § 6-11-21, Ala.Code 1975, which provided a general cap on punitive-damages awards, had been declared unconstitutional in 1993, see Henderson v.”
Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, 128 S. Ct. 2605 (2008).
· cites it 3× “2008) (greater of 5:1 or $500,000 in most cases); Ala. Code §§ 6-11-21 (a), (d) (2005) (greater of 3:1 or $1.”
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Vinson, 749 So. 2d 393 (Ala. 1999).
· cites it 29× “On June 25, 1993, this Court, by a 5 to 3 vote, declared Ala.Code 1975, § 6-11-21, limiting an award of punitive damages to $250,000, unconstitutional as violating Article I, § 11, of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, which guarantees the right to trial by jury.”
Duck Head Apparel Co., Inc. v. Hoots, 659 So. 2d 897 (Ala. 1995).
· cites it 15× “Thus, a limitation on punitive damages such as that imposed by § 6-11-21[, Ala. Code 1975,] clearly impairs the traditional function of the jury.”
Sperau v. Ford Motor Co., 674 So. 2d 24 (Ala. 1995).
· cites it 12× “In my dissent, I wrote: "However, if the trial court is the trier of the facts, then punitive damages cannot exceed $250,000 unless the punitive damages award is based on one of the three exceptions listed in [Ala.”
Oliver v. Towns, 738 So. 2d 798 (Ala. 1999).
· cites it 12× “Oliver filed a timely motion for a new trial, challenging the process by which the trial court had entered the default judgment; making a general challenge to the damages as excessive; and challenging specifically the excess of the punitive award over the $250,000 cap contained…”
Smith v. Schulte, 671 So. 2d 1334 (Ala. 1995).
· cites it 6× “1993) (invalidating on the right-to-trial-by-jury grounds Ala.Code 1975, § 6-11-21); and in Moore v.”
Ala. River Grp., Inc. v. Conecuh Timber, Inc., 261 So. 3d 226 (Ala. 2017).
· cites it 7× “The trial court reduced the punitive-damages award by virtue of the statutory cap in § 6-11-21, Ala. Code 1975, resulting in a total judgment of $6,395,489.”
— Ala. Code § 6-11-21(1) — 3 cases
Duck Head Apparel Co., Inc. v. Hoots, 659 So. 2d 897 (Ala. 1995).
“Thus, a limitation on punitive damages such as that imposed by § 6-11-21[, Ala. Code 1975,] clearly impairs the traditional function of the jury.”
— Ala. Code § 6-11-21(a) — 18 cases
Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, 128 S. Ct. 2605 (2008).
“2008) (greater of 5:1 or $500,000 in most cases); Ala. Code §§ 6-11-21 (a), (d) (2005) (greater of 3:1 or $1.”
Mobile Infirmary Med. Ctr. v. Hodgen, 884 So. 2d 801 (Ala. 2003).
“Code 1975, had been declared unconstitutional in 1991 and that § 6-11-21, Ala.Code 1975, which provided a general cap on punitive-damages awards, had been declared unconstitutional in 1993, see Henderson v.”
— Ala. Code § 6-11-21(b) — 3 cases
— Ala. Code § 6-11-21(c) — 3 cases
— Ala. Code § 6-11-21(d) — 4 cases
Mobile Infirmary Med. Ctr. v. Hodgen, 884 So. 2d 801 (Ala. 2003).
“Code 1975, had been declared unconstitutional in 1991 and that § 6-11-21, Ala.Code 1975, which provided a general cap on punitive-damages awards, had been declared unconstitutional in 1993, see Henderson v.”
— Ala. Code § 6-11-21(e) — 2 cases
— Ala. Code § 6-11-21(i) — 2 cases
Ala. River Grp., Inc. v. Conecuh Timber, Inc., 261 So. 3d 226 (Ala. 2017).
“The trial court reduced the punitive-damages award by virtue of the statutory cap in § 6-11-21, Ala. Code 1975, resulting in a total judgment of $6,395,489.”
— Ala. Code § 6-11-21(j) — 3 cases
Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, 128 S. Ct. 2605 (2008).
“2008) (greater of 5:1 or $500,000 in most cases); Ala. Code §§ 6-11-21 (a), (d) (2005) (greater of 3:1 or $1.”
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