What Are Nominal Damages? What You Need To Know (2025)

What Are Nominal Damages?

In civil law, nominal damages are payments (usually trivial amounts) meant to acknowledge the fact that a plaintiff has won their case. They are usually awarded if the defendant has clearly violated the plaintiff’s rights in some way, but the plaintiff has not demonstrated that they have suffered any kind of monetary loss as a result.

Nominal damages are often very small sums of money. It’s not unusual for a defendant to be ordered to pay a plaintiff $1. In some cases, the amount awarded is greater but still trivial compared to most court awards. For example, in one Ohio case involving breaking and entering, the plaintiff was awarded $100 in nominal damages.

What Is the Purpose of Nominal Damages?

Seeking nominal damages in tort liability cases (cases where one party is accused of causing harm to or violating the rights of another) might seem like a waste of time. It takes time to figure out how to sue someone, respond to lawsuit-related paperwork, and appear in court.

However, there are several reasons why someone might pursue a claim that results in nominal damages:

• The plaintiff wants to feel vindicated
• The plaintiff wants to stand up for a given principle
• The plaintiff wants to send a message to people who behave similarly to the defendant
• The plaintiff wants to seek punitive damages

When pursuing legal action, a plaintiff doesn’t have to specify that they are seeking nominal damages. Sometimes, the plaintiff might file a claim against an insurance company seeking compensatory damages but only receive nominal damages.

In some cases, nominal damages open the door for a plaintiff to receive punitive damages, or compensation awarded to the plaintiff because the defendant’s behavior was egregiously bad.

Nominal Damages Examples

Imagine your neighbor has a long history of harassing you and generally being unpleasant. One day, they break into your home and make obscene gestures at your security cameras. The neighbor doesn’t destroy anything or cost you any money, but you want to show them that you take their conduct seriously.

You also hope that if you take legal action, the neighbor will stop bothering you. You file a lawsuit against the neighbor, and the judge acknowledges that your neighbor violated your rights. As a result, the neighbor is ordered to pay you $1.

Another possible example involves defamation. Imagine you have a lawn care business and care for the lawns of five regular clients.

You have a competitor who decides to try to steal business by talking badly about you. They create flyers with pictures of poor landscaping and falsely claim that it’s your work. They then post the flyers across town and even create a social media ad with the same message.

You don’t lose any business as a result, but you want to stop the competitor’s actions and send a message. You file a defamation lawsuit. The judge determines that the competitor violated your rights, but because you didn’t lose any money as a result of the conduct, the competitor is only ordered to pay you nominal damages.

Who Pays Court Costs in Cases Involving Only Nominal Damages?

Legally, there’s nothing prohibiting you from filing a lawsuit where you won’t recover meaningful compensation. However, lawsuits cost money — there is usually a fee to file the lawsuit itself, and you will generally be responsible for attorney fees as well.

If the defendant is found to be in the wrong, they might be ordered to pay your attorney fees. However, not all states allow a judge to order a defendant to pay the plaintiff’s legal fees in cases like this. You should check your state’s laws before filing a lawsuit, but keep in mind that even if your state allows a judge to order the other party to pay your legal fees, that isn’t a guarantee that they will.

Ultimately, while filing a lawsuit where nominal damages are likely to be the only award can be a meaningful endeavor, you should be prepared to cover your own legal fees.

Have Your Rights Been Violated?

Filing a lawsuit that may result in nominal damages is not the right choice for everyone. Most personal injury attorneys only take on cases where there is a strong likelihood they will be able to recover monetary compensation. However, if you want to send a message or stand up for a principle, you may be able to hire a lawyer to take your case.

At ConsumerShield, our mission is to connect people whose rights have been violated to attorneys who can help. If you’re interested in seeking legal action because your rights were violated, get in touch for a free case evaluation today.