AK · jury_instructions
Alaska Civil Pattern Jury Instruction 20.20A
Eligibility for Punitive Damages
The plaintiff has requested that you award [him] [her] [it] punitive damages. Punitive damages are a separate amount of money awarded for the purpose of punishing the defendant and deterring the defendant and others from repeating similar acts.
At this time, you must determine whether the plaintiff is eligible for an award of punitive damages. The plaintiff is eligible for an award of punitive damages only if the plaintiff proves by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant's conduct which forms the basis of your verdict demonstrated reckless indifference to the interests of others, or was outrageous. Outrageous conduct includes acts done with malice or bad motives.
I will now define what it means to prove something by clear and convincing evidence. An alleged fact is established by clear and convincing evidence if the evidence leads you to believe that the alleged fact is highly probable. It is not necessary that the alleged fact be certainly true or true beyond a reasonable doubt or conclusively true. However, it is not enough to show that the alleged fact is more likely true than not true.
At this time, you must only decide whether the plaintiff is eligible for an award of punitive damages. You should not discuss or decide the amount of any punitive damage award. If you decide that the plaintiff is eligible for an award of punitive damages, I will give you additional instructions regarding a punitive damage award.
History
Alaska Civil Pattern Jury Instructions 20.20A, dated (2008). Prepared by the Alaska Civil Pattern Jury Instructions Committee; published by the Alaska Court System. The Alaska Court System states that these instructions "have not been approved or promulgated by any court or the Alaska Bar Association."
Provenance
- Source
- courts.alaska.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-24
- Edition
- 2026-09-24
- Content hash
6c05acadbbda298fa6cef60a59f303428ec0314ec5be544df798b01a778baf7f
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