Legal Definitions - damna

Damna is a historical legal term originating from Latin, referring to the monetary compensation awarded by a court to a party who has suffered a loss or injury. In historical legal practice, this term was used in a few specific ways:

• It could refer to the direct financial compensation for the harm suffered, such as lost property value or lost income, excluding any legal expenses or court fees incurred during the case.
• Alternatively, damna could encompass the total monetary award, including both the compensation for the harm and the legal costs, such as court filing fees or administrative charges, that the winning party was entitled to recover.
• In some specific historical contexts, it also referred to a portion of the damages specifically designated as a fee for the court clerk, known as damna clericorum.

Essentially, damna represented the financial remedy ordered by a court to make an injured party whole, sometimes covering just the direct loss, and sometimes also the associated legal expenses.

Examples:

• Example 1 (Damages exclusive of costs):

  In 17th-century England, a farmer successfully sued a neighboring landowner whose cattle had repeatedly trespassed and destroyed a significant portion of his crops. The court awarded the farmer damna specifically for the estimated market value of the lost crops and the labor required for replanting.

  This example illustrates how damna could refer to the direct financial compensation for the harm (the destroyed crops and labor) suffered by the farmer, without including the legal fees or court charges he might have paid to pursue the lawsuit.

• Example 2 (Damages inclusive of costs):

  During the American colonial period, a merchant brought a claim against a shipping company that had negligently damaged a valuable cargo of imported textiles. The court ruled in favor of the merchant, awarding damna that covered not only the financial loss from the ruined goods but also the court filing fees and other administrative expenses the merchant incurred during the litigation.

  Here, damna encompasses the full monetary award, including both the compensation for the damaged cargo and the legal costs associated with bringing the case to court.

• Example 3 (Damna clericorum - simplified):

  In a medieval European land dispute, a noble family successfully defended their claim to a disputed territory against a rival. The court awarded them damna to compensate for the financial losses and disruption caused by the prolonged conflict.

  A specific portion of this awarded damna was historically set aside to cover the administrative services provided by the court clerk, such as recording the proceedings, drafting official decrees, and managing court documents. This demonstrates how damna could include specific historical fees for court administration.