Awarding of Exemplary or Corrective Damages

Question 1

When is the award of exemplary or corrective damages proper?

Answer 1

Jurisprudence sets certain requirements before exemplary damages may be awarded, to wit:

(1) they may be imposed by way of example or correction only in addition, among others, to compensatory damages, and cannot be recovered as a matter of right, their determination depending upon the amount of compensatory damages that may be awarded to the claimant;

(2) the claimant must first establish his right to moral, temperate, liquidated, or compensatory damages; and

(3) the wrongful act must be accompanied by bad faith, and the award would be allowed only if the guilty party acted in a wanton, fraudulent, reckless, oppressive, or malevolent manner.

(Guy v. Tulfo, et al., G.R. No. 213023, April 10, 2019)