13.8.1 Damages

General tort principles apply to FHA damage suits, which allow recovery of nominal, actual, and punitive damages.1  The major components of actual damages in FHA cases are humiliation, embarrassment, and emotional distress.2

Punitive damages may be appropriate where “reckless or callous disregard for the plaintiff's rights, as well as intentional violations of federal law” are evidenced.3  At least 4 circuits have adopted this standard for FHA claims.4  Applying this standard, the Fifth Circuit approved a $55,000 punitive damages award where the actual damages were only $500.5  The Eighth Circuit used a multiplier of 4 in an FHA sex harassment case.6

• 1Curtis v. Loether, 415 U.S. 189 (1974).
• 2For a discussion of damage awards, see Kale Williams, Maximizing Damage Awards in a Fair Housing Case, 26 John Marshall L.R. 1 (1993).
• 3461 U.S. 30 (1983)
• 4Lincoln v. Case, 340 F.3d 283 (5th Cir. 2003).
• 5Id.
• 6Quigley v. Winter, 598 F.3d 938 (8th Cir. 2010).