actual damages
3
5.7
- noun
- /ˈæk.tʃu.əl ˈdæmɪdʒɪz/
- Formal
:
daños reales
- The jury ordered DM Records to pay Isbell just more than $2.1 million in actual damages for copyright infringement related to (Whoomp!).
They could, I'm assuming, go after companies merely for the bad acts without there being actual damages.
- They could, I'm assuming, go after companies merely for the bad acts without there being actual damages.
Examples
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The plaintiffs sought actual damages, in addition to treble damages under the Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practice Act.
Blog text (32) -
The court ruled that the defendant must pay actual damages for the financial losses caused by their negligence.
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The actual damages to personal property would be paid for by insurance companies and not tax dollars.
Blog text (14) -
Another is a growing consensus in the academic community that punitive awards are very rare and hardly ever out of line with actual damages.
Academic text (1997) -
So, should your case win, you may be awarded both actual damages as well as punitive damages.
Blog text (32) -
Otherwise you're limited to actual damages, which require you to prove that you've lost sales.
Blog text (32) -
If the copyright holder didn't give notice of their copyright protection, he or she is only entitled to actual damages.
Blog text (17) -
The charges against Almaraz were dismissed because the claimants couldn't show any actual damages.
Fiction book (1992) -
Any landlord or real estate agent representing a landlord will be liable to an injured tenant for money damages equal to three times the amount of actual damages incurred, plus attorneys' fees.
Academic text (1995) -
In order to receive compensation, the plaintiff must provide evidence of actual damages incurred from the incident.
Synonyms
5
6.3
Money paid to someone for a real loss or injury caused by another
Antonyms
- Formal
26
8.8
Money a court orders someone to pay that is more than payment for a loss to punish deliberate harmful acts
Money a court gives to punish someone for causing serious harm and to stop others
How Certain
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase composes transparently from 'actual' (existing in reality) + 'damages' (financial compensation), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to compensation for real, provable losses. Although the term has a specialized legal nuance (distinguishing compensatory from punitive or nominal damages), the basic meaning is directly derivable from the constituents and is cross-linguistically comparable.
Etymology
The legal term actual damages comes from a simple idea: actual means real and damages means the harm or cost. Imagine someone bringing bills and receipts to court and getting money only for those proven losses, so the phrase means money to cover real, shown loss, not 'punishment' or guesswork.