Talk:Damages

Substantial damages

It would be very helpful if this article can say something about the phrase "substantial damages", which many people use meaning "a substantial (i.e. significant, large) sum of money paid in damages", but which I have also seen defined more technically as "damages which cover the exact amount of the substance of the loss incurred by the defendant." See https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/substantial%20damages. If there is a difference between legal and common usage, that needs to be explained. --Doric Loon (talk) 22:16, 20 November 2018 (UTC)

The definition in MW is

damages which bring about actual economic loss or for which compensation in a substantial amount is awarded as distinguished from nominal damages awarded only to vindicate a legal right

That's not a particularly useful definition. Substantial damages can be awarded for non-economic losses (e.g. pain and suffering), and it is not always the case that damages not classified as nominal (e.g., $1) will consistently be viewed as substantial. We're dealing with terminology that includes an element of subjectivity.Arllaw (talk) 05:14, 21 November 2018 (UTC)

How are nominal damages really set?

I see different figures set for nominal damages in England and Wales, sometimes £1, sometimes £2, sometimes £5, sometimes as high as £10. One case where it was £10 resulted in a six figure cost bill for the defendants, though mostly because the plaintiffs offered to settle for an admission and £1, and liability was indeed found but no loss proven (hence £10 was awarded, and the exact amount of the explicitly nominal damages was immaterial). Uncriticalsimon (talk) 22:42, 9 September 2025 (UTC)