Leardi v. Brown, 474 N.E.2d 1094 (1985)

Citation: Leardi v. Brown, 474 N.E.2d 1094 (1985)
Parent Document: Leardi v. Brown, 474 N.E.2d 1094 (1985)
Jurisdiction: Massachusetts (state)
Effective Date: 1985-02-28
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1988517/leardi-v-brown/ ↗

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at 85. We conclude that the award of statutory damages, in circumstances where there is no actual harm, adequately fulfils these same purposes. See M. Minzer, J. Nates, C. Kimball, D. Axelrod, R. Goldstein, Damages in Tort Actions, § 2.12 (1982); Rice, Remedies, Enforcement Procedures and the Duality of Consumer Transaction Problems, 48 B.U.L. Rev. 559, 573 (1968). Thus, trebling the statutory amount is unnecessary to fulfil the aims of the statute. We further note that the inference we draw as to legislative intent is consistent with the common law rule, prevailing in many jurisdictions, that where no actual harm is shown, no punitive damages may be awarded. See, e.g., Skipper v. South Cent. *163 Bell Tel. Co., 334 So. 2d 863, 865 (Ala. 1976); Kluge v. O’Gara, 227 Cal. App. 2d 207, 209 (1964); Pringle Tax Serv. v. Knoblauch, 282 N.W.2d 151, 153-154 (Iowa 1979); Cristman v. Voyer, 92 N.M. 772, 775 (1979); Cates v. Barb,

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