Torts and retribution : the case for punitive damages / María Guadalupe Martínez Alles.

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2025.

1st edition

203057

Exemplary damages.

Torts.

Damages.

Lex talionis.

Introduction:

Part I: The place of punishment in torts

1. Punishment is part of tort law

2. Punishment in tort theory

Part II. The retributive rationale

3. The punitive puzzle: shifting away from deterrence

4. Relational retribution

5. Overcoming compensatory reductionism

Part III. Retribution in the mass-market setting

6. Understanding the collective context of wrongdoing

7. Punitive damages as retributive sanctions for violations of societal trust

8. Product liability, risk regulation and new technologies

Part IV. Why tort law

9. The significance of the tort victim

10. The significance of the tort process

Conclusion.

Torts and Retribution is the first work of its kind to offer a comprehensive analytical retributive framework for punitive damages across legal jurisdictions. It expands the scope of tort theory by unchaining it from the canonically exclusive perspective of the defendant by integrating the long-overlooked perspective of victims of reprehensible wrongdoing seeking punitive awards. Its cross-disciplinary approach brings to tort theory insights from empirical research on social cognition and theoretical debates over the retributive justifications for the imposition of punishment under a conceptual framework coined Relational Retribution. This framework suits both the bilateral structure of tort law and the proactive role allocated to the victim in tort litigation. By recognizing the fundamental connection between the defendant and the plaintiff, Relational Retribution focuses both on punishment as the imposition of a deserved sanction and on the significance of the wrongdoing for the victims and their demand for denunciation and value affirmation. Fills a critical gap in tort theory by offering a novel theoretical justification for the retributive dimension of tort law embedded in punitive damages. Introduces a cross-disciplinary approach that enriches tort law with insights from literature on social cognition and victim's retributive motivations. Provides greater clarity and precision about the practical operation of punitive damages. - Publisher's website.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

9781009567916

xiii, 299 pages ; 24 cm