Section 11.34 Punitive Damages
Library | Tort Law 2016 |
E. (§11.34) Punitive Damages
While punitive or exemplary damages are generally not available in claims asserted by seamen under the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (commonly known as the Jones Act), 46 U.S.C. §§ 30104 et seq., some courts have held that, in appropriate circumstances, punitive damages may be available to passengers with tort claims, although there is a split in authority. For discussion on the availability of punitive damages for seamen, see Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend, 557 U.S. 404 (2009) (allowing punitive damages for seamen for willful and wanton failure to pay maintenance and care by employer), and McBride v. Estis Well Service, L.L.C., 768 F.3d 382 (5th Cir. 2014) (punitives are not available to seamen in unseaworthiness cases).
There is a long tradition of awarding punitive damages to passengers under the maritime law. The earliest reported case in which these damages were awarded by a court in this country is Chamberlain v. Chandler, 5 F. Cas. 413 (D. Mass. 1823), in which passengers sued the master of a vessel for his conduct toward them on a voyage from Hawaii to Boston. Justice Story...
To continue reading
Request your trial- Books and Journals
- Section 11.1 Scope of Chapter
- Section 11.2 Maritime Law and Admiralty Defined
- Section 11.3 Maritime Torts Defined
- Section 11.4 Actions Cognizable in Admiralty
- Section 11.5 Saving to Suitors
- Section 11.6 Consequences of Admiralty Jurisdiction
- Section 11.7 Procedural Consequences of Admiralty Jurisdiction
- Section 11.8 Choice of Remedies
- Section 11.9 Differences Between Admiralty and Diversity Jurisdiction
- Section 11.10 Navigable Waters
- Section 11.11 Admiralty Jurisdiction Over Torts
- Section 11.12 Admiralty Jurisdiction Act
- Section 11.13 Vessel Status
- Section 11.14 Application of Admiralty Jurisdiction to Riverboat Casinos
- Section 11.15 Substantive Law of Maritime Torts
- Section 11.16 Comparative Negligence
- Section 11.17 Superseding Cause
- Section 11.18 Contribution Among Joint Tortfeasors
- Section 11.19 Proportionate Liability of Nonsettling Defendant
- Section 11.20 Statute of Limitations and Laches
- Section 11.21 Wrongful Death
- Section 11.22 Loss of Society
- Section 11.23 Products Liability
- Section 11.24 Generally
- Section 11.25 Federal and State Regulation
- Section 11.26 Navigational Rules
- Section 11.27 Collision
- Section 11.28 Standard of Care
- Section 11.29 Loss-of-Use Damages
- Section 11.30 Passengers
- Section 11.31 Visitors and Guests
- Section 11.32 Forum-Selection Clauses
- Section 11.33 Time Limitation on Suit Clauses
- Section 11.34 Punitive Damages
- Section 11.35 Generally
- Section 11.36 Relationship Between a Wharfinger and Vessel Owner
- Section 11.37 Duties of a Wharfinger
- Section 11.38 Defenses
- Section 11.39 Generally
- Section 11.40 Persons Within Scope of Limited Liability Act
- Section 11.41 Vessels Within Scope of Limited Liability Act
- Section 11.42 Losses Covered
- Section 11.43 Privity or Knowledge of the Owner
- Section 11.44 Limitation Fund
- Section 11.45 Exoneration
- Section 11.46 Practice and Procedure
Subscribers can access the reported version of this case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see a list of all the cited cases and legislation of a document.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see a list of all the documents that have cited the case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see the revised versions of legislation with amendments.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see any amendments made to the case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see a visualisation of a case and its relationships to other cases. An alternative to lists of cases, the Precedent Map makes it easier to establish which ones may be of most relevance to your research and prioritise further reading. You also get a useful overview of how the case was received.

Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see the list of results connected to your document through the topics and citations Vincent found.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.