CACI No. VF-3030. Unruh Civil Rights Act (Civ. Code, §§ 51, 52(a))

Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (2024 edition)

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VF-3030 . Unruh Civil Rights Act (Civ . Code, §§ 51, 52(a))

W e answer the questions submitted to us as follows:

1. Did [ name of defendant ] [deny/aid or incite a denial

of/discriminate or make a distinction that denied] full and equal

[accommodations/advantages/facilities/privileges/services] to [ name

of plaintiff ]?

1. If your answer to question 1 is yes, then answer question 2. If you

answered no, stop here, answer no further questions, and have

the presiding juror sign and date this form.

2. Was [ [ name of defendant ]’s perception of] [ name of plaintiff ]’s [sex/

race/color/religion/ancestry/national origin/medical

condition/genetic information/marital status/sexual orientation/

citizenship/primary language/immigration status/[ insert other

actionable characteristic ]] a substantial motivating reason for

[ name of defendant ]’s conduct?

2. If your answer to question 2 is yes, then answer question 3. If you

answered no, stop here, answer no further questions, and have

the presiding juror sign and date this form.

3. Was [ name of defendant ]’s conduct a substantial factor in causing

harm to [ name of plaintiff ]?

3. If your answer to question 3 is yes, then answer question 4. If you

answered no, stop here, answer no further questions, and have

the presiding juror sign and date this form.

4. What are [ name of plaintiff ]’s damages?

[a. Past economic loss

[lost earnings $ ]

[lost profits $ ]

[medical expenses $ ]

[other past economic loss $ ]

[a. Total Past Economic Damages: $ ]

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[b. Future economic loss

[lost earnings $ ]

[lost profits $ ]

[medical expenses $ ]

[other future economic loss $ ]

[b. Total Future Economic Damages: $ ]

[c. Past noneconomic loss, including [physical

pain/mental suf fering:] $ ]

[d. Future noneconomic loss, including [physical

pain/mental suf fering:] $ ]

Answer question 5.

5. What amount, if any, do you award as a penalty against [ name of

Signed: Presiding Juror

After [this verdict form has/all verdict forms have] been signed, notify

the [clerk/bailif f/court attendant] that you ar e ready to pr esent your

verdict in the courtroom.

New September 2003; Revised April 2007, December 2010, June 2012; Renumber ed

fr om CACI No.VF-3010 December 2012; Revised June 2013, December 2016

Directions for Use

This verdict form is based on CACI No. 3060, Unruh Civil Rights Act - Essential

Factual Elements .

The special verdict forms in this section are intended only as models. They may

need to be modified depending on the facts of the case.

If the plaintif f’ s association with another is the basis for the claim, modify question

2 as in element 2 of CACI No. 3060.

Questions 3 and 4 may be omitted if only the statutory minimum of $4,000 damages

is sought. Harm is presumed for this amount. (See Civ . Code, § 52(a); Koir e v .

Metr o Car W ash (1985) 40 Cal.3d 24, 33 [219 Cal.Rptr . 133, 707 P .2d 195].)

The penalty in question 5 refers to the right of the jury to award a maximum of

three times the amount of actual damages but not less than $4,000. (Civ . Code,

VF-3030 CIVIL RIGHTS

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§ 52(a).) The judge should correct the verdict if the jury award goes over that limit.

Also, if the jury awards nothing or an amount less than $4,000 in question 5, the

judge should increase that award to $4,000 to reflect the statutory minimum.

If specificity is not required, users do not have to itemize all the damages listed in

question 4 and do not have to categorize “economic” and “noneconomic” damages,

especially if it is not a Proposition 51 case. The breakdown of damages is optional

depending on the circumstances.

If there are multiple causes of action, users may wish to combine the individual

forms into one form. If dif ferent damages are recoverable on dif ferent causes of

action, replace the damages tables in all of the verdict forms with CACI No. VF-

3920, Damages on Multiple Legal Theories .

If the jury is being given the discretion under Civil Code section 3288 to award

prejudgment interest (see Bullis v . Security Pac. Nat’l Bank (1978) 21 Cal.3d 801,

814 [148 Cal.Rptr . 22, 582 P .2d 109]), give CACI No. 3935, Pr ejudgment Inter est .

This verdict form may need to be augmented for the jury to make any factual

findings that are required in order to calculate the amount of prejudgment interest.

CIVIL RIGHTS VF-3030

Page last reviewed May 2024

Neil H. Buchanan

In this two-part column, University of Toronto visiting law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan discusses recent Republican advice for Donald Trump to focus on policy rather than “culture wars” in his presidential campaign.

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