Definition

Noun (Legal term): 1. A token sum of money awarded by a court: This sum, often as low as one dollar or one pound, is awarded when a plaintiff's legal rights have been technically violated, but they have not suffered any substantial, quantifiable financial loss or harm that requires significant monetary compensation. The award serves as a formal, symbolic recognition that a wrong has occurred.

Usage

• Nominal damages are a legal remedy, not a form of substantial compensation.
• They are typically awarded in cases involving breach of contract, trespass, or other civil wrongs where a right was infringed, but no real financial damage resulted.
• The primary purpose is to declare that the defendant was legally in the wrong.

Examples

• The court awarded the landowner nominal damages of one dollar because the neighbor's fence was technically on his property, but it caused no actual harm or loss of use.
• Although the company breached the contract by delivering the goods one day late, it caused no financial injury, so the plaintiff received only nominal damages.
• The judge ruled in the plaintiff's favor, granting nominal damages to acknowledge the infringement of their rights.

Advanced Usage

• Vindication of Rights: Awarding nominal damages can be strategically important for a plaintiff seeking a court declaration that their rights were violated, which may have future legal or reputational value.
• Basis for Costs: In some jurisdictions, a plaintiff who wins an award of nominal damages may still be entitled to recover their legal costs from the defendant.

Variants and Related Words

• Damages (n): A sum of money claimed or awarded in compensation for a loss or injury.
• Compensatory Damages (n): Damages intended to compensate the plaintiff for the actual loss suffered.
• Punitive Damages (n): Damages intended to punish the defendant for outrageous conduct and deter similar behavior.

Synonyms

• Token damages
• Symbolic damages
• Contemptuous damages (a similar, though distinct, concept where the award is minimal to show the court's contempt for the trivial nature of the claim)

Related Phrases

• Award nominal damages: The act of the court granting this token sum.
• Sue for nominal damages: To bring a legal action primarily to establish a point of law or right, not for financial gain.

Noun

1. (law) a trivial sum (usually $1.00) awarded as recognition that a legal injury was sustained (as for technical violations of a contract)