President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, announcing, that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious areas are, and henceforward shall be free..
Definition of punitive damages. : damages awarded in excess of compensation to the plaintiff to punish a defendant for a serious wrong.
With the right case, a plaintiff could receive a multimillion-dollar punitive damage award. Other states have severely limited punitive damage awards by limiting the types of cases where they can be awarded or placing statutory caps on how much money a jury or judge can award for punitive damages. For example, lawsuits against medical care providers for malpractice have punitive damage caps in some states.