NRS
42.005 Exemplary and punitive damages: In general; limitations on
amount of award; determination in subsequent proceeding.
1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 42.007, in an action for the breach of
an obligation not arising from contract, where it is proven by clear and
convincing evidence that the defendant has been guilty of oppression, fraud or
malice, express or implied, the plaintiff, in addition to the compensatory
damages, may recover damages for the sake of example and by way of punishing
the defendant. Except as otherwise provided in this section or by specific
statute, an award of exemplary or punitive damages made pursuant to this
section may not exceed:
(a) Three times the amount of compensatory
damages awarded to the plaintiff if the amount of compensatory damages is
$100,000 or more; or
(b) Three hundred thousand dollars if the amount
of compensatory damages awarded to the plaintiff is less than $100,000.
2. The limitations on the amount of an
award of exemplary or punitive damages prescribed in subsection 1 do not apply
to an action brought against:
(a) A manufacturer, distributor or seller of a
defective product;
(b) An insurer who acts in bad faith regarding
its obligations to provide insurance coverage;
(c) A person for violating a state or federal law
prohibiting discriminatory housing practices, if the law provides for a remedy
of exemplary or punitive damages in excess of the limitations prescribed in
subsection 1;
(d) A person for damages or an injury caused by
the emission, disposal or spilling of a toxic, radioactive or hazardous
material or waste; or
(e) A person for defamation.
3. If punitive damages are claimed
pursuant to this section, the trier of fact shall make a finding of whether
such damages will be assessed. If such damages are to be assessed, a subsequent
proceeding must be conducted before the same trier of fact to determine the
amount of such damages to be assessed. The trier of fact shall make a finding
of the amount to be assessed according to the provisions of this section. The
findings required by this section, if made by a jury, must be made by special
verdict along with any other required findings. The jury must not be instructed,
or otherwise advised, of the limitations on the amount of an award of punitive
damages prescribed in subsection 1.
4. Evidence of the financial condition of
the defendant is not admissible for the purpose of determining the amount of
punitive damages to be assessed until the commencement of the subsequent
proceeding to determine the amount of exemplary or punitive damages to be
assessed.
5. For the purposes of an action brought
against an insurer who acts in bad faith regarding its obligations to provide
insurance coverage, the definitions set forth in NRS 42.001 are not applicable and the
corresponding provisions of the common law apply.
(Added to NRS by 1989,
486; A 1995,
2669)
Notes of Decisions
Shaw v. Citimortgage, Inc. (2016)
nvd · cites it 8×
“See NRS § 42.005(1). The court addresses each of Shaw’s remaining causes of action below.”
BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore (1996)
scotus · cites it 4×
“• Nevada — Nev. Rev. Stat. §42.005 (1) (1993) (caps punitive damages at three times compensatory damages if compensatory damages equal $100,000 or more, and at $300,000 if the compensatory damages are less than $100,000).”
Grosjean v. Imperial Palace, Inc. (2009)
nev · cites it 9×
“After the jury was excused, Imperial Palace orally moved for an NRCP 41(b) involuntary dismissal as to Grosjean’s request for punitive damages, explaining that, because all of the state law tort claims had been dismissed, there was no basis to support Grosjean’s request, which…”
Wyeth v. Rowatt (2010)
nev · cites it 4×
“We reject Wyeth’s arguments and conclude that the reduced punitive damages awards are well within NRS 42.005’s statutory parameters. The awards are both reasonable and proportionate to the amount of harm caused to respondents and to the compensatory damages award.”
Evans v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc. (2000)
nev · cites it 5×
“Further, these awards did not annihilate either Dean Witter or House; both awards constituted a relatively small portion of the net worths of these parties.”
Guaranty National Insurance v. Potter (1996)
nev · cites it 4×
“Therefore, we conclude that the award of $150,000 compensatory damages was not excessive. [6] Punitive damage award GNIC contends that there is no evidence that it acted with malice or oppression, and thus the district court erred in awarding punitive damages.”
Albert H. Wohlers & Co. v. Bartgis (1999)
nev · cites it 4×
“7 NRS 42.005 provides that punitive damages may be awarded “in an action for the breach of an obligation not arising from contract, where it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant has been guilty of oppression, fraud or malice, express or implied.”
Cain v. Price (2018)
nev · cites it 2×
“" NRS 42.005(1). Here, the Cains pursued punitive damages on claims of fraud, civil conspiracy, and conversion.”
— Nev. Rev. Stat. § 42.005(1) — 65 cases
Cain v. Price (2018)
nev
“" NRS 42.005(1). Here, the Cains pursued punitive damages on claims of fraud, civil conspiracy, and conversion.”
BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore (1996)
scotus
“• Nevada — Nev. Rev. Stat. §42.005 (1) (1993) (caps punitive damages at three times compensatory damages if compensatory damages equal $100,000 or more, and at $300,000 if the compensatory damages are less than $100,000).”
— Nev. Rev. Stat. § 42.005(1)(a) — 9 cases
— Nev. Rev. Stat. § 42.005(1)(b) — 3 cases
— Nev. Rev. Stat. § 42.005(2) — 3 cases
— Nev. Rev. Stat. § 42.005(2)(a) — 1 case
— Nev. Rev. Stat. § 42.005(2)(b) — 4 cases
Albert H. Wohlers & Co. v. Bartgis (1999)
nev
“7 NRS 42.005 provides that punitive damages may be awarded “in an action for the breach of an obligation not arising from contract, where it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant has been guilty of oppression, fraud or malice, express or implied.”
— Nev. Rev. Stat. § 42.005(3) — 14 cases
BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore (1996)
scotus
“• Nevada — Nev. Rev. Stat. §42.005 (1) (1993) (caps punitive damages at three times compensatory damages if compensatory damages equal $100,000 or more, and at $300,000 if the compensatory damages are less than $100,000).”
Wyeth v. Rowatt (2010)
nev
“We reject Wyeth’s arguments and conclude that the reduced punitive damages awards are well within NRS 42.005’s statutory parameters. The awards are both reasonable and proportionate to the amount of harm caused to respondents and to the compensatory damages award.”
— Nev. Rev. Stat. § 42.005(4) — 2 cases
— Nev. Rev. Stat. § 42.005(5) — 2 cases
— Nev. Rev. Stat. § 42.005(a) — 2 cases
— Nev. Rev. Stat. § 42.005(b) — 1 case
Albert H. Wohlers & Co. v. Bartgis (1999)
nev
“7 NRS 42.005 provides that punitive damages may be awarded “in an action for the breach of an obligation not arising from contract, where it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant has been guilty of oppression, fraud or malice, express or implied.”
— Nev. Rev. Stat. § 42.005(l) — 1 case
— Nev. Rev. Stat. § 42.005(l)(a) — 7 cases
Wyeth v. Rowatt (2010)
nev
“We reject Wyeth’s arguments and conclude that the reduced punitive damages awards are well within NRS 42.005’s statutory parameters. The awards are both reasonable and proportionate to the amount of harm caused to respondents and to the compensatory damages award.”
Evans v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc. (2000)
nev
“Further, these awards did not annihilate either Dean Witter or House; both awards constituted a relatively small portion of the net worths of these parties.”
— Nev. Rev. Stat. § 42.005(l)(b) — 1 case
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.