1. No award of punitive damages against any defendant shall exceed the greater of:

(1) Five hundred thousand dollars; or

Terms Used In Missouri Laws 510.265

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • State: when applied to any of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" includes such district and territories. See Missouri Laws 1.020

(2) Five times the net amount of the judgment awarded to the plaintiff against the defendant.

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Such limitations shall not apply if the state of Missouri is the plaintiff requesting the award of punitive damages, or the defendant pleads guilty to or is convicted of a felony arising out of the acts or omissions pled by the plaintiff.

2. The provisions of this section and sections 510.261 and 510.263 shall not apply to civil actions brought under section 213.111 that allege a violation of section 213.040, 213.045, 213.050, or 213.070, to the extent that the alleged violation of section 213.070 relates to or involves a violation of section 213.040, 213.045, or 213.050, or subdivision (3) of subsection 1 of section 213.070 as it relates to housing.