Department of Transportation v. King

I join fully in Judge Branch’s opinion and write specially to emphasize an additional point supporting the reversal of the trial court’s order.

The dissent, the trial court, and King urge the proposition that “the full amount of damages allowed by law” is the legal and linguistic equivalent of saying “the maximum allowed by a statutory cap on damages” (which in this instance is $1 million). Respectfully, this is not precisely the case.

It is clear that “[i]f a tort is committed through mistake, ignorance, or mere negligence, the damages are limited to the actual injury receive d[.]” S ee…