Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

Mont. Code Ann. § 27-1-220

Punitive damages -- when allowed -- limitation

Applied in 7 court decisions — leading case G.J.D. ex rel. G.J.D. v. Johnson (1998)

Most recently applied in Louise King v. Geico Indemnity Company (November 2017)

En

How often courts cite this section

198920002010201720
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(1) Except as otherwise expressly provided by statute and subject to subsection (3), a judge or jury may award, in addition to compensatory damages, punitive damages for the sake of example and for the purpose of punishing a defendant.

(2) (a) Unless otherwise expressly provided by statute, punitive damages may not be recovered in any action arising from:

(i) contract; or

(ii) breach of contract.

(b) Subsection (2)(a) does not prohibit recovery of punitive damages in a products liability action or an action arising under 33-18-201.

(3) An award for punitive damages may not exceed $10 million or 3% of a defendant's net worth, whichever is less. This subsection does not limit punitive damages that may be awarded in class action lawsuits.

Official source: Montana Code Annotated (Montana Legislature). Reproduced from public-domain Montana statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.