NC · jury_instructions
N.C.P.I.—Motor Vehicle 106.93
PUNITIVE DAMAGES-ISSUE OF WHETHER TO MAKE AWARD AND AMOUNT.
NOTE WELL: Use this instruction in conjunction with
all claims for relief arising prior to January 1, 1996.
Claims for relief arising on or after January 1, 1996 are
governed by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1D-1 et seq., effective
January 1, 1996. For such cases, use N.C.P.I.-Motor
Vehicle 106.98.
The (state number) issue reads:
"What amount of punitive damages, if any, does the jury in its
discretion award to the plaintiff?"
You are to answer this issue only if you have answered (identify
issues and specify answers necessary for a consideration of this issue).
Whether to award punitive damages is a matter within the sound
discretion of the jury.1 Punitive damages are not awarded for the
purpose of compensating the plaintiff for his [injury] [damage], nor are
they awarded as a matter of right. In deciding whether to award punitive
damages, you must determine that there is a need to punish the
defendant for his conduct, or to deter the defendant or others from
engaging in this or similar conduct in the future, or to make an example
out of the defendant.
Furthermore, if you decide, in your discretion, to award punitive
damages, any amount you award must bear a rational relationship2 to the
sum reasonably needed to punish the defendant for his conduct, or to
deter the defendant or others from engaging in this or similar conduct in
the future, or to make an example out of the defendant.3
Finally, if you determine, in your discretion, to award punitive
damages, then you may award to the plaintiff an amount which bears a
rational relationship to the sum reasonably needed to punish the
defendant, or to deter the defendant or others from engaging in this or
similar conduct in the future, or to make an example out of the
defendant. That amount should be written in the space provided on the
verdict sheet.
If, on the other hand, you determine, in your discretion, not to
award the plaintiff any amount, then you should write the word "None" in
the space provided on the verdict sheet.
History
N.C.P.I.—Motor Vehicle 106.93 (May 1996). Prepared by the North Carolina Conference of Superior Court Judges' Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions, assisted by the UNC School of Government; published by the School of Government.
Provenance
- Source
- sog.unc.edu
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-25
- Edition
- 2026-09-24
- Content hash
6565222398b7cac34bcaadd5d38d73a74e762caeb6c76d4507310e77060b8fc7
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