Nominal Damages
A symbolic $1 award that proves a constitutional violation happened — but may leave you paying your own attorney fees.
What It Is
Nominal damages are a small monetary award — typically $1 — that recognizes a constitutional violation occurred even when the plaintiff can’t prove actual monetary harm. They vindicate the right itself.
Why It Matters
In § 1983 cases, you don’t always have quantifiable damages. Maybe the unlawful arrest lasted two hours. Maybe the retaliatory charge was dropped quickly. The injury is to your rights, not necessarily your wallet.
Nominal damages let you win on the merits without proving a dollar amount of harm. After Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, 592 U.S. 279 (2021), a request for nominal damages is enough to keep your case alive — it satisfies Article III standing even if the underlying violation has ended.
The Attorney Fee Problem
Here’s the gut punch: under Farrar v. Hobby, 506 U.S. 103 (1992), a plaintiff who wins only nominal damages is technically a “prevailing party” but may recover zero attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988.
The Court held that when the only relief obtained is nominal damages, attorney fees are generally not appropriate unless the victory has significant legal or public value.
This is why most attorneys won’t take a § 1983 case with uncertain damages. If you “win” but only get $1, the attorney gets nothing. The economics don’t work. This dynamic is explored in depth in our article No One Will Take My § 1983 Case.
Key Cases
- Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, 592 U.S. 279 (2021) — Nominal damages satisfy Article III standing
- Farrar v. Hobby, 506 U.S. 103 (1992) — $1 nominal damages = potentially $0 attorney fees
- Carey v. Piphus, 435 U.S. 247 (1978) — Nominal damages available for procedural due process violations without proof of actual injury