The Latin phrase “ad damnum,” translated as “to the damage,” refers to a sum named in a civil suit which is supposed to reflect the loss incurred by the plaintiff as a result of the defendant's actions. The plaintiff includes the ad damnum in the papers served on the defendant to alert the defendant to the amount the plaintiff intends to claim. This is not necessarily the amount which will be awarded if the plaintiff wins the suit, but it does give the defendant an idea of the sum of money at stake. The law surrounding ad damnum clauses varies and it is important to be familiar with the applicable laws of the area in which the case is being tried.
In some regions, the ad damnum acts as the maximum which can be awarded without filing a motion to amend the case. If the defendant fails to appear in court and a default judgment is entered against her or him, the amount of the judgment cannot be higher than the ad damnum. In some cases, this sum also applies to civil cases which do go through a trial; otherwise, the defendant could be effectively penalized for showing up in court with an award higher than the sum initially named in the lawsuit.
Plaintiffs often set the ad damnum high. They may be well aware that the full sum will not be rewarded, but setting the bar high leaves room to negotiate and can encourage the jury to award high damages. In some areas attorneys are limited when it comes to naming an ad damnum, to avoid situations in which very high claims are made and awarded and defendants pay well in excess of the real damages.
Awards in excess of the ad damnum can happen when a plaintiff can demonstrate that the amount was set too low at the start of the trial. There are a number of reasons why the amount can be set lower than it should be. For example, someone could claim the replacement cost of a car as a result of a car accident and also claim damages to cover medical expenses, only to learn later that a medical issue related to the car accident was more serious and will require more treatment. In this case, she or he could file a motion raising the ad damnum so that the jury could award a more appropriate amount given the changed circumstances.
