Statutory Damages

Pre-determined monetary damages established by statute that plaintiffs can recover without proving actual harm, commonly available in data breach litigation under various privacy laws. Unlike compensatory damages requiring proof of specific financial losses, statutory damages provide set amounts per violation. Under CCPA Section 1798.150, consumers can seek statutory damages between $100-$750 per consumer per incident for data breaches resulting from businesses' failure to implement reasonable security. Class actions aggregating many affected consumers can result in substantial exposure. Other laws with statutory damages include: Video Privacy Protection Act ($2,500 per violation), Telephone Consumer Protection Act ($500-$1,500 per call/text), and various state privacy laws. Statutory damages incentivize compliance by creating liability even without provable harm, recognize that privacy violations cause intangible injuries difficult to monetize, and deter violations through meaningful penalties. Organizations should implement reasonable security measures, respond promptly to breaches, and consider cyber liability insurance covering statutory damages exposure.