Punitive Damages in Nebraska: Barred by the State Constitution

Nebraska does not allow punitive damages on state-law claims: the Nebraska Supreme Court has held that "punitive, vindictive, or exemplary damages contravene Neb. Const, art. VII, § 5, and thus are not allowed in this jurisdiction" (Distinctive Printing & Packaging Co. v. Cox, 232 Neb. 846, 443 N.W.2d 566 (1989)). Because there are no punitive damages, there is no punitive damages cap and no general state share, though some penalty-type statutory amounts, such as the additional wage-claim recovery under Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-1232, go entirely to the schools.

Two exceptions come from federal law: punitive damages can be recovered in a Nebraska court on a federal claim such as 42 U.S.C. 1983, and Nebraska must enforce another state's judgment that includes them. Bills to change the rule, LB25 (2023) and LB57 (2024), did not become law; their punitive damages provisions never passed. For how other states compare, see punitive damages laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-18. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Nebraska law on punitive damages in civil cases: Neb. Const. art. VII, s. 5, the Nebraska Supreme Court decisions applying it, and the statutes named below. It does not cover compensatory damages generally, wrongful-death procedure, deadlines and beneficiaries (see Nebraska wrongful death law), the federal law of punitive damages (the hub covers it), or every statute that provides increased, liquidated or presumed damages for a particular claim beyond those named here.

Does Nebraska allow punitive damages?

No, not on claims under Nebraska law. The bar comes from the state constitution as the Nebraska Supreme Court reads it, not from a statute.

In Abel v. Conover, 170 Neb. 926, 104 N.W.2d 684 (1960), the court stated the rule:

"It has been a fundamental rule of law in this state that punitive, vindictive, or exemplary damages will not be allowed, and that the measure of recovery in all civil cases is compensation for the injury sustained."

In Distinctive Printing (1989), the court tied the rule to the constitution: "the fact remains that punitive, vindictive, or exemplary damages contravene Neb. Const, art. VII, § 5, and thus are not allowed in this jurisdiction."

Nebraska courts use "punitive," "vindictive" and "exemplary" for the same thing: damages meant to punish rather than to compensate.

Why: Article VII, section 5 of the Nebraska Constitution

Article VII, section 5(1) provides that, except as provided in subsections (2) and (3), "all fines, penalties, and license money arising under the general laws of the state" (apart from fines and penalties for overloading vehicles on public roads) "shall belong and be paid over to the counties respectively where the same may be levied or imposed." It continues: "All such fines, penalties, and license money shall be appropriated exclusively to the use and support of the common schools in the respective subdivisions where the same may accrue," with a separate split for vehicle-overloading fines.

The Supreme Court has read this to mean that a penalty cannot be paid to a private litigant. The Legislature's annotation to art. VII, s. 5 summarizes Abel v. Conover this way: "Statute providing for recovery of treble damages in civil action was unconstitutional."

The line falls between penalties and compensation. In Distinctive Printing, the court held that the parental-liability statute (Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-801) imposes neither a fine nor a penalty and does not award punitive damages, because the damages it allows are measured by, and limited to, actual injury.

Exceptions: federal claims and other states' judgments

Federal claims in Nebraska courts. In State ex rel. Cherry v. Burns, 258 Neb. 216, 602 N.W.2d 477 (1999), the Nebraska Supreme Court explained:

"We have held that ordinarily, with respect to state causes of action, punitive damages contravene Neb. Const, art. 7, § 5, and are not allowed. ... However, Russell has brought his claim in state court under federal civil rights law, § 1983, and the U.S. Supreme Court has held that punitive damages are recoverable under § 1983 'when the defendant's conduct is shown to be motivated by evil motive or intent, or when it involves reckless or callous indifference to the federally protected rights of others.'"

So on a section 1983 claim, the federal standard governs, even in a Nebraska courtroom. Federal punitive damages law, including the U.S. Supreme Court's due-process limits on award size, is on the punitive damages hub.

Judgments from other states. In Miller v. Kingsley, 194 Neb. 123, 230 N.W.2d 472 (1975), three consolidated cases sought to register Kansas judgments that each included punitive damages, and the trial court had dismissed them as repugnant to Nebraska law. The Nebraska Supreme Court held that "A state may not refuse to enforce a judgment of a foreign state on the ground that it would result in a violation of the public policy of the forum state," and it reversed.

State employees. The statute on indemnifying state officials and employees addresses punitive awards: "any portion of an award or settlement which is for punitive damages may only be paid with the approval of the Legislature" (Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-8,239.05(4)).

Is there a cap on punitive damages in Nebraska?

There is no punitive damages cap because punitive damages are not awarded on state-law claims. What Nebraska statutes do instead is allow increased or presumed amounts tied to the actual harm, and some of those carry their own limits:

• Consumer Protection Act. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. 59-1609, "the court may in its discretion, increase the award of damages to an amount which bears a reasonable relation to the actual damages which have been sustained and which damages are not susceptible of measurement by ordinary pecuniary standards; except that such increased award for violation of section 59-1602 shall not exceed one thousand dollars."
• Intimate images. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-3505(a), "if the actual damages are incapable of being quantified or difficult to quantify," a plaintiff may recover "presumed damages not to exceed ten thousand dollars against each defendant in an amount that bears a reasonable relationship to the probable damages incurred by the prevailing plaintiff," plus "an amount equal to any monetary gain made by the defendant from disclosure of the intimate image." None of these items is labeled punitive.
• Trade secrets. Neb. Rev. Stat. 87-504 allows "the actual loss caused by misappropriation" and unjust enrichment, or "a reasonable royalty for a misappropriator's unauthorized disclosure or use of a trade secret." It contains no exemplary-damages clause.
• Wage claims. An employee who wins a wage claim "shall be entitled to recover the full amount of the judgment and all costs of such suit, including reasonable attorney's fees" (Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-1231(1), as amended by LB847, effective July 18, 2026). The subsection contains no multiplied damages. A separate section, 48-1232, provides that an additional amount equal to the judgment "may be recovered from the employer," or, if the nonpayment of wages is found to be willful, "an amount equal to two times the amount of unpaid wages shall be recovered from the employer," and that any such amount "shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for distribution in accordance with Article VII, section 5"; it goes to the schools, not to the employee.

A treble-damages statute that does not pay the plaintiff. Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-926(1) says a person who commits oppression under color of office "shall be answerable to the party so injured, deceived, or harmed or oppressed in treble damages." The annotations to the statute cite Cole v. Wilson, 11 Neb. App. 837, 661 N.W.2d 706 (2003), for the points that the section "is purely criminal in nature and does not provide for an independent civil remedy" and that "Treble damages under this section would not be payable to the individual who was oppressed."

Does Nebraska take a share of the award?

There is no general split-recovery statute, because no punitive damages are awarded on state-law claims. Some statutes send a penalty-type amount entirely to the schools instead, for example the additional wage-claim recovery under Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-1232. The constitution works the other way: under art. VII, s. 5(1), fines and penalties belong to the counties and the common schools, which is why a penalty cannot go to a private litigant.

Wrongful death and defamation

Wrongful death. Nebraska's wrongful death statute provides: "The verdict or judgment should be for the amount of damages which the persons in whose behalf the action is brought have sustained. The avails thereof shall be paid to and distributed among the widow or widower and next of kin in the proportion that the pecuniary loss suffered by each bears to the total pecuniary loss suffered by all such persons" (Neb. Rev. Stat. 30-810). The constitutional bar on punitive damages applies to these state-law claims as to others. Who brings the claim, and the deadline, are on the Nebraska wrongful death page.

Libel and invasion of privacy. Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-840.01 limits a libel or privacy plaintiff to special damages "unless correction was requested as herein provided and was not published," and it "shall not apply if it is alleged and proved that the publication was prompted by actual malice, and actual malice shall not be inferred or presumed from the publication." That limit concerns compensatory damages; punitive damages remain barred. See Nebraska defamation laws.

Statutes that mention punitive damages only to exclude them

A few Nebraska statutes use the words "punitive damages" to say they are not owed or not reimbursed:

• Neb. Rev. Stat. 8-3212(d) (Uniform Special Deposits Act, 2025): a financial institution holding a special deposit that does not comply with the account agreement or the act is liable only for damages proximately caused by the noncompliance, and "Except as provided by other law of this state, the financial institution is not liable for consequential, special, or punitive damages."
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 86-5,106(1)(d)(i): "A property owner is not entitled to reimbursement from an electric utility or commercial broadband supplier for the cost of any appraisal, attorney's fees, or award for special, consequential, indirect, or punitive damages."

Attempts to change the rule

LB25 (2023-2024). As introduced, LB25 would have authorized punitive damages, with awards sent to the state for the schools; its committee statement describes "Section 6: Punitive damages awarded are remitted to the State Treasurer for distribution," and the committee amendment would have required proof "by clear and convincing evidence that the other party acted in a willfully reckless manner." In April 2024 an amendment struck the bill's original sections, and the version on Final Reading was a Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act change "to allow tort claims involving child abuse or sexual assault of a child under the act," with no punitive damages provision. That version "Passed on Final Reading 28-17-4" on April 18, 2024, and was "Returned by Governor without approval on April 24, 2024." The Legislature's news service reported that senators "did not have an opportunity to attempt to override that action." No punitive damages provision was passed.

LB57 (2024 special session). LB57, a 2024 First Special Session bill on tort claims against political subdivisions and the state that would also have allowed punitive damages in civil cases, was "Indefinitely Postponed pursuant to Rule 9, Sec. 8" on August 20, 2024.

Nebraska punitive damages at a glance

Related pages

• Punitive damages laws by state
• Nebraska wrongful death law
• Nebraska defamation laws

This article provides general legal information about Nebraska punitive damages law as of 2026-10-18. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Nebraska.

Last updated: 2026-10-18.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Nebraska allow punitive damages?

Not on state-law claims. The Nebraska Supreme Court held in Distinctive Printing & Packaging Co. v. Cox (1989) that punitive, vindictive or exemplary damages contravene Neb. Const. art. VII, s. 5 and are not allowed. They can be recovered in Nebraska courts on a federal claim under 42 U.S.C. 1983 (State ex rel. Cherry v. Burns, 1999).

Why doesn't Nebraska allow punitive damages?

Neb. Const. art. VII, s. 5 provides that fines and penalties arising under the general laws of the state belong to the counties and must be used exclusively for the support of the common schools. The Nebraska Supreme Court has held that punitive damages contravene that provision.

Is there a cap on punitive damages in Nebraska?

No cap applies because punitive damages are not awarded on Nebraska state-law claims. Some statutes limit increased or presumed damages tied to actual harm, for example the $1,000 limit on an increased award for a 59-1602 violation under Neb. Rev. Stat. 59-1609.

Are punitive damages available on a federal civil rights claim in a Nebraska court?

Yes. In State ex rel. Cherry v. Burns (1999), the Nebraska Supreme Court noted that punitive damages are ordinarily not allowed on state causes of action, but that the U.S. Supreme Court has held them recoverable under section 1983 when the defendant's conduct is motivated by evil motive or intent or involves reckless or callous indifference to federally protected rights.

Will Nebraska enforce another state's punitive damages judgment?

Yes. In Miller v. Kingsley (1975), the Nebraska Supreme Court reversed after Kansas judgments that included punitive damages were refused enforcement, stating that a state may not refuse to enforce a judgment of a foreign state on the ground that it would violate the forum state's public policy.

Are punitive damages available in a Nebraska wrongful death case?

Not under Nebraska law. The wrongful death statute provides that the verdict or judgment should be for the amount of damages the persons for whom the action is brought have sustained (Neb. Rev. Stat. 30-810), and the constitutional bar on punitive damages applies to state-law claims.

Did Nebraska pass a law allowing punitive damages?

No. LB25 (2023) would have authorized punitive damages, but its punitive provisions were replaced before the version that passed 28-17-4, a change to the Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act on child-abuse claims, which was returned by the Governor without approval on April 24, 2024. LB57, a 2024 special session bill that included punitive damages, was indefinitely postponed on August 20, 2024.