Legal Definitions - accumulative

Accumulative

The term accumulative describes something that increases or grows over time through a series of successive additions or increments. It signifies a total that builds up by combining individual amounts or instances.

• Example 1: Penalties for Ongoing Regulatory Violations

  Imagine a company that fails to comply with a safety regulation. A government agency might impose a daily fine of $500 for every day the violation continues. If the company takes 10 days to fix the issue, the total penalty would be $5,000. This is because the $500 fine for each day is accumulative, adding to the previous day's total until the violation is resolved.

• Example 2: Consecutive Criminal Sentences

  In a criminal case, if a defendant is convicted of multiple offenses, a judge might order that the sentences be served accumulatively. For instance, if a person receives a 3-year sentence for one crime and a 2-year sentence for another, and these are ordered to be served accumulatively, the defendant would serve a total of 5 years in prison (3 years plus 2 years), as one sentence begins after the previous one concludes.

• Example 3: Damages in a Continuing Nuisance Claim

  Consider a situation where a factory continuously emits pollutants that damage a neighboring property over several months. When the property owner sues for damages, the harm caused by the pollution is often considered accumulative. This means the court would calculate the total damages by adding up the harm suffered during each period of the ongoing pollution, rather than just assessing a single, isolated incident of damage.