Definition of sort for Students. 1  1 : a group of persons or things that have something in common : kind all sorts of people. 2  2 : person 1, individual He was not a bad sort. 3  3 : general disposition : nature people of an evil sort.
Punitive Damages Definition: Special and highly exceptional damages ordered by a court against a defendant where the act or omission which caused the suit, was of a particularly heinous, malicious or highhanded nature.
Rationale for Punitive Damages. Punitive damages are meant to punish and to deter similar wrongful or repugnant conduct. In the car accident example above, suppose that Mark intentionally sideswiped Tomâs car after he thought that Tom cut him off on the highway.