In a hearing on a claim for statutory damages after a personal information breach, how does the court decide what amount to award?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In the practice file for this exercise, we read the data subject's papers setting out the claim, any paper changing an ordinary damages claim into a claim for statutory damages, and the hearing record showing the evidence examined, alongside the processor's papers trying to show the absence of intent or negligence.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading treats the decision as the court's own assessment: where a claim under the provision is made, the court, having considered the gist of the whole argument and the result of the evidence examination, may recognise a reasonable amount as damages within the range the provision sets, and need not find a figure actually proved.
Another reading stresses that the court only acts on a claim already framed as one for statutory damages under this provision, so if the file shows the data subject is still pursuing an ordinary damages claim, the court's power to fix a reasonable amount has not yet been engaged, and the provision says nothing about how the two kinds of claim are weighed together.
Your judgment
What in the hearing record would show that the evidence examined supports an amount near the top of the range the provision sets?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to change the range or the factors the court considers, or if a court decision sets out what the whole gist of the argument and the result of the evidence examination must show for an amount to be recognised.