Automobile Fraud: 8.11.3.5.2 What can be included in the compensatory damages award to which punitive damages are compared?
It is important to include all compensatory awards in the amount to which the punitive damages award is compared—the denominator of the ratio. Compensatory damages awarded for emotional distress should not be discounted but treated as any other actual damages.652 Several courts have held that if prejudgment interest is part of compensatory damages, it should be included in the denominator.653