Caps limit total recovery per claimant or per occurrence, frequently in ranges far below private tort exposure. Some statutes cap per incident regardless of the number of claimants.
Federal civil rights claims are not subject to state caps.
Alternative Names:
Governmental Damages Cap|Public Entity Cap
Why it Matters?
State caps do not limit Section 1983 recovery, which is the principal reason plaintiffs plead federal constitutional claims alongside state tort claims arising from the same conduct. That makes the federal claim the driver of exposure regardless of how modest the state cap is. Per-occurrence caps shared among multiple claimants also create allocation disputes among plaintiffs that the defense generally need not resolve.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Do state caps limit federal claims?
What do per-occurrence caps create?
