Punitive damages: time for re-examination

This paper questions the utility of courts continuing to award punitive damages. It argues that the practice unacceptably mixes what seems to be a criminal remedy into the civil realm, where it does not belong. There is merit in retaining the distinction between the criminal law and the civil law. They serve different functions. Punitive damages cannot meet the objectives that they are said to serve, including punishment and deterrence, given the likely availability of insurance. Punitive damages are even less justifiable when imposed in the context of vicarious liability