Punitive damages limitations

15 U.S.C. § 6604

• Title: 15 — Commerce and Trade
• Chapter: 92 — YEAR 2000 COMPUTER DATE CHANGE

Text

(a) In general
In any Y2K action in which punitive damages are permitted by applicable law, the defendant shall not be liable for punitive damages unless the plaintiff proves by clear and convincing evidence that the applicable standard for awarding damages has been met.
(b) Caps on punitive damages
Subject to the evidentiary standard established by subsection (a), punitive damages permitted under applicable law against a defendant described in paragraph (2) in a Y2K action may not exceed the lesser of—
(A) three times the amount awarded for compensatory damages; or
(B) $250,000.
A defendant described in this paragraph is a defendant—
(A) who—
(i) is sued in his or her capacity as an individual; and
(ii) whose net worth does not exceed $500,000; or
(B) that is an unincorporated business, a partnership, corporation, association, or organization, with fewer than 50 full-time employees.
Paragraph (1) does not apply if the plaintiff establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant acted with specific intent to injure the plaintiff.
(c) Government entities
Punitive damages in a Y2K action may not be awarded against a government entity.
(d) Institutions of higher education
Subject to paragraph (2), punitive damages in a Y2K action may not be awarded against an instituion 1 of higher education as defined in section 1001(a) of title 20.
Paragraph (1) shall not apply to an institution of higher education if the Y2K failure in the Y2K action occurred in a computer-based student financial aid system of that institution of higher education, and the institution—
(A) has passed Y2K data exchange testing with the Department of Education; or
(B) is not or was not in the process of performing data exchange testing with the Department of Education at the time the Department terminates such testing.

History

(Pub. L. 106–37, §5, July 20, 1999, 113 Stat. 192; Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, §1000(a)(4) [title III, §311], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1535, 1501A–265.)

Editorial Notes

Editorial Notes

Amendments
1999—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 106–113 added subsec. (d).