Also known as: not greater than · not more than · ≤
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A rule of modified comparative negligence that allows a plaintiff to recover damages provided the plaintiff's negligence is not greater than the combined negligence of the defendants. Recovery is reduced by the plaintiff's percentage of fault. The rule differs from the not-as-great-as approach by permitting recovery in equal-fault cases.
Nia Nkosi obtained a child-support judgment against Ethan. The trustee refused distributions from a discretionary trust despite ample assets and an abuse of discretion. The court ordered the trustee to pay Nia an amount equitable under the circumstances but not greater than the sum the trustee should have distributed had discretion been properly exercised.
Nestor Navarro recovered $100,000 in compensatory damages from Nordic Ventures. The jury awarded $1,450,000 in punitive damages. The court reduced the punitive award because the ratio exceeded nine times compensatory damages and therefore was not greater than the constitutional limit.
Nolan Nunez sued a prosecutor for conduct outside the scope of advocacy. The court held the prosecutor immune only for actions intimately associated with the judicial phase and not greater than the core functions protected by absolute immunity.
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Noreen Nguyen sued a radio station for airing an illegally recorded conversation. The court permitted recovery only to the extent the station's conduct was not greater than the protected speech interests recognized under the First Amendment.
Nigel Nelson challenged a state ice-company monopoly law. The court upheld the statute only because the regulation was not greater than necessary to serve a legitimate public interest under rational-basis review.
Nancy Nelson claimed misappropriation of a manufacturing process. The court held state trade-secret law enforceable only to the extent it was not greater than the federal patent policy of encouraging disclosure after a limited monopoly period.
Under not-greater-than a plaintiff recovers when negligence equals the defendants' combined negligence. Under not-as-great-as the plaintiff recovers nothing in an equal-fault case. The difference affects outcomes whenever juries find equal fault.
The plaintiff recovers the percentage of damages not attributable to the plaintiff's own fault. Recovery is reduced proportionally but is not barred when fault is equal.
The rule governs modified comparative negligence in tort actions. It determines whether the plaintiff's fault bars or merely reduces recovery against multiple defendants.
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