Nevada Revised Statutes 42.007 – Exemplary and punitive damages: Limitations on liability by employer for wrongful act of employee; exception
1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, in an action for the breach of an obligation in which exemplary or punitive damages are sought pursuant to subsection 1 of NRS 42.005 from an employer for the wrongful act of his or her employee, the employer is not liable for the exemplary or punitive damages unless:
Terms Used In Nevada Revised Statutes 42.007
- Conscious disregard: means the knowledge of the probable harmful consequences of a wrongful act and a willful and deliberate failure to act to avoid those consequences. See Nevada Revised Statutes 42.001
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Oppression: means despicable conduct that subjects a person to cruel and unjust hardship with conscious disregard of the rights of the person. See Nevada Revised Statutes 42.001
(a) The employer had advance knowledge that the employee was unfit for the purposes of the employment and employed the employee with a conscious disregard of the rights or safety of others;
(b) The employer expressly authorized or ratified the wrongful act of the employee for which the damages are awarded; or
(c) The employer is personally guilty of oppression, fraud or malice, express or implied. If the employer is a corporation, the employer is not liable for exemplary or punitive damages unless the elements of paragraph (a), (b) or (c) are met by an officer, director or managing agent of the corporation who was expressly authorized to direct or ratify the employee’s conduct on behalf of the corporation.
2. The limitations on liability set forth in subsection 1 do not apply to an action brought against an insurer who acts in bad faith regarding its obligations to provide insurance coverage.