Question

Jerome sues Angora Department Store for false imprisonment, assault, and battery. At trial, Jerome's attorney proves that Angora committed these torts and that Jerome had medical expenses of $25,000, lost wages of $15,000, and also experienced pain and suffering as a result. If the applicable state tort reform statute limits the amount of noneconomic damages that a plaintiff may recover to one-half of the amount of the plaintiff's economic damages, the maximum amount of compensatory damages that the court may order Angora to pay Jerome is:

Answer 1

The court may order Angora Department Store to pay Jerome a maximum of $60,000 in compensatory damages. This total combines economic damages ($40,000) and the capped noneconomic damages for pain and suffering ($20,000), which is limited to half of the economic damages by the state tort reform statute.

Step-by-step explanation:

Jerome is seeking compensatory damages for the torts of false imprisonment, assault, and battery committed by Angora Department Store. The economic damages, which include medical expenses and lost wages, amount to $40,000. The state tort reform statute limits noneconomic damages to one-half of the economic damages. Therefore, the maximum amount of noneconomic damages that Jerome could recover for pain and suffering would be $20,000, which is half of $40,000. As such, the total compensatory damages, combining both economic and noneconomic, would not exceed $60,000.