The arrival of the professional set, in fact, has resulted in no discernible change in the number of convictions or acquittals in criminal court, or damages awarded in civil court, according to court records.

However, punitive damages awarded under court systems that recognize them may be difficult to enforce in jurisdictions that do not recognize them.

Justice Walter B. Tolub called "excessive and actuated by passion" the huge damages awarded to Charles Bell, the former hotel manager who won a sexual discrimination suit against Mrs. Helmsley last month.

The damages, disclosed Friday in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, awarded the group $165,000 in compensatory damages and $2.8 million in punitive damages.

So too have the damages awarded by US courts against manufacturers found to have polluted the environment to a degree that has recently been decreed unacceptable.

The Court of Appeal held that "unless there is a physical injury, no question of damages for mental suffering, fear, anxiety and the like arises", and disallowed the damages awarded for the shock and shaking up.

If the parties involved waive their right to a jury trial, the case can be decided by a judge; otherwise, the case is decided and damages awarded by a jury.

Once liability has been established and damages awarded, the defendants are free to litigate amongst themselves to better divide liability.

The damages awarded crippled Powys financially, and he was forced to make substantial changes to the English edition of his next novel, which was initially published in America as Weymouth Sands (1934).

Punitive Damages The Court agreed to decide whether punitive damages awarded in a personal injury suit are taxable.