Eupes v. Nephue
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
Appeal by the defendant, Peter Nephue, from a, judgment of' the Supreme Court in favor of the plaintiff, entered in the office of'the clerk of the county of Franklin on the'23d day of November, 1906, upon the verdict of a jury for $1,000, and also from an order entered in said clerk’s office on the 19th day of December, 1906, denying the defendant’s motion for a new trial made upon the minutes.
1Opinion of the Court
Smith, P. J.:
This action, as it Was finally submitted to the jury, was an action for criminal conversation. The trial judge instructed the jury as to the rule of damages in the following words: “ That marriage relation is at the very basis of our good government, and the law' properly says that if a man does violate the sacredness of the mar.riage relation that he may be held in damage for it. And those'' damages are not the money damages as are recovered in an action where yon are required to prove the dollars and cents you have suffered. Those damages are punitive damages,' for the purpose…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Voltz v. . BlackmarNew York Court of Appeals · 1876
- Bergmann v. . JonesNew York Court of Appeals · 1883
- Chellis v. . ChapmanNew York Court of Appeals · 1891
- Jacobs v. SireThe Superior Court of New York City · 1893