Final answer:
A defendant can be held responsible for punitive damages if they have intentionally committed a violation of the DTPA. Double jeopardy does not forbid suing someone for damages in a civil matter, even if they were found not guilty in a criminal case.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a defendant has intentionally committed a violation of the DTPA, they may be held responsible for punitive damages. The options presented are:
- Intentionally
- Innocently
- Negligently
- Partially
Punitive damages are typically awarded in cases where the violation was intentional and meant to serve as a deterrent for egregious conduct. For the DTPA, or Deceptive Trade Practices Act, if a defendant knowingly deceives a consumer, they can indeed be held responsible for punitive damages, which goes beyond compensatory damages and is designed to punish the wrongdoer.
The double jeopardy rule in the Bill of Rights forbids prosecuting someone in a state court for a criminal act they had been acquitted of in federal court or vice versa. However, it does not forbid suing someone for damages for an act the person was found not guilty of in a criminal case, which means the correct answer to the reference question is option c. Suing someone for damages is a civil matter, not a criminal one, and double jeopardy does not apply to civil cases.