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Suing for Damages from Domestic Violence: Torts in Civil Courts
A civil suit against a domestic abuser can provide survivors with a sense of justice and a financial cushion
- Jul 06, 2026
Key Takeaways:
People who manage to escape a relationship with an abuser want safety first, for themselves and their children. Next, many long for justice.
Family court rarely provides a sense of justice. All too often, victims of domestic violence find themselves caught in impossible binds. They may have to hand children over to a parent who they know is capable of grave harm, and who hasn't taken steps to change.
Criminal court is also iffy because most abusive actions aren’t well-documented and may not be considered crimes. Some victim-survivors don’t want to pursue criminal charges against their children’s other parent or are too afraid to contact the police.
Civil court provides a third path, although not for everyone.
Filing a Tort in Civil Court
Survivors can file a civil complaint for damages, called a tort. A “tort” refers to an intentional or careless wrongful act that harms another person physically, emotionally or financially. The person who files a tort is called the “plaintiff” or the “injured party.” A plaintiff can file for compensatory and punitive damages.
These cases are complex. A person who tries to file “pro se” (representing themselves) isn’t apt to be successful. Plaintiffs will need the help of a civil litigation attorney who is familiar with this kind of suit. The good news: attorneys will take these cases on contingency. That is, the injured party doesn’t pay anything up front. Attorneys will only take cases that they think will be successful. They get a percentage of the award, usually from 30 – 40 percent.
The claims in a suit for damages after domestic violence will differ according to the facts of the case. The terms and conditions vary somewhat depending on the jurisdiction. The plaintiff and their lawyer must decide whether they should file in state or federal court. And then, depending on the answer, which state or federal court is the most appropriate forum. Tort claims involving residents of the same state are usually filed in state court. Suits involving citizens of different states (and/or if the lawsuit raises questions of federal law) are often filed in federal court.
It’s only worth filing a tort if the person or organization sued has funds or assets to pay compensation. For example, sometimes survivors know that the abuser’s family has money and will want to keep the family scandal out of the public eye. Or maybe the abuser has a valuable business. If the person or entity sued doesn’t have access to funds or assets, there’s no point in filing a tort.
Filing a Tort: It’s Not Easy
Filing a tort may be a retraumatizing, long and difficult process, according to attorney Adriana Alcalde. The abuser is going to come after the survivor, requesting records from their cell phone and psychotherapy. The survivor may be subject to grueling depositions and cross-examinations. This process may take a few years. For some survivors, it’s totally worth it, while others choose to “move on” rather than seek compensation.
The Structure of the Legal Complaint
The complaint starts by identifying the parties, the court and the attorneys. The first big section consists of Factual Allegations or a Statement of Facts. This section contains a narration of the history of the couple’s relationship. This includes both specific incidents and patterns of violence, intimidation, coercion, and exploitation. Some of these will include specific dates, others will be approximate (“in the spring of 2022”), and some may describe general patterns (“on many occasions between 2021 and 2025”).
The next big section is the Statement of Claims or Causes of Action. Here, each legal claim is discussed separately, explaining how the facts meet the legal elements. These can include:
Assault refers to inflicting, attempting to inflict or threatening to inflict serious physical injury on another person.
Battery refers to the intentional, unlawful, harmful or offensive touching of another person without their consent. It doesn’t have to cause injury. For instance, spitting on someone or pushing them is battery.
Negligence refers to failing in a “reasonable duty of care.” This concerns acts that were not done, but should have been done, for the plaintiff’s well-being. Examples include failing to take psychiatric medication as prescribed, failing to abstain from abusing drugs or alcohol and failing to help the plaintiff access needed medical care.
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress refers to conduct that is outrageous in character, extreme in degree and is considered “utterly intolerable in a civilized community.” This is not everyday unpleasantness, but rather more extreme incidents that caused the plaintiff to suffer. (Keep in mind that survivors often minimize the seriousness of what was done to them).
False Arrest and Imprisonment or Unlawful Restraint concerns one person confining another against their will. It doesn’t have to last a long time or include physical force. Being locked in a room, blocked from leaving or tied up are examples.
Interference with Civil Rights refers to using (or threatening to use) physical force or violence; damaging, destroying or trespassing on property (or threatening the same); and engaging in conduct that would cause a reasonable person to experience emotional distress. Some states have civil rights statutes that permit survivors of domestic abuse to sue for emotional distress for harm based on their gender or gender identity.
Transmission of Sexually Transmitted Infections may be considered a form of domestic violence, fraud, battery, negligent or intentional harm if the partner knew or should have known they had an STI and failed to disclose it or deliberately infected a partner.
Sexual Abuse includes sexual acts that are obtained by force, threats of force or without the other person’s consent. Examples include taking explicit images without consent or through coerced consent; forcing sex; forcing or coercing assaults during sex, such as slapping, biting, strangling, pinching, causing pain, etc.; verbal abuse during sex; intimidating to coerce sex; negative consequences in response to refusing demands for sex; pushing alcohol or drugs to facilitate unwanted sex; and more.
Financial Abuse includes a variety of actions that financially harm a partner. Breach of fiduciary duty occurs when one spouse violates their legal obligation of trust and honesty toward the other regarding marital assets. This often involves hiding assets, wasting money, making unauthorized transfers, unduly influencing the spouse in a way that harms them financially, and destroying or unlawfully taking property.
Defamation involves maliciously harming a spouse or ex-spouse’s reputation and good name in the community. This could include statements that overtly seem intended to arouse sympathy, but in fact are intended to harm the target, such as statements falsely implying that the other party is insane, addicted or abusive.
Additional counts could include invasion of privacy, stalking, interference with parental rights, acts by third parties, physical and emotional battery of children and more.
Asking For What You’re Owed
Request for Relief or Prayer for Relief is the section that specifies what the survivor wants, such as:
Compensation for Expenses including medical bills, psychotherapy, security systems, relocation, new computers and phones, lost property and more.
Compensation for Damages such as pain and suffering, lost wages and earning capacity, physical injuries and more.
Punitive Damages aim to punish the defendant and deter similar behavior. To obtain punitive damages, plaintiffs often have to prove by “clear and convincing evidence" that the defendant acted with “malice, oppression or fraud.” Plaintiffs sometimes argue that the defendant’s actions or negligence show utter disdain and disrespect for Plaintiff’s health, safety and welfare. They may argue that this amounts to expressed or implied malice.
The plaintiff usually avoids specifying the amount they are seeking in the initial complaint, since the goal is often a settlement rather than a trial. The quantity will be discussed in mediation.
Continuing Tort and The Statute of Limitations
A “continuing tort” is most applicable to domestic violence. It concerns a cumulative or continuous injury rather than a single occurrence. Plaintiffs can seek compensation for the entire history of abuse over time. The statute of limitations begins to run only when the abuse stops.
Additionally, if a survivor delays filing a suit for fear of retaliation, this, too, could extend the statute of limitations.
Some abusive actions (such as battery) are apt to have a relatively short statutes of limitations, while others, such as rape or crimes against children, have a longer one. These vary by state. The “continuing tort” diminishes concerns about timing, allowing victim-survivors more time to recover before suing. However, survivors are advised to speak with an attorney promptly so that no deadlines are missed.
Next Steps
Pursuing a civil lawsuit can feel overwhelming, but support is available. Use our Get Help tool or chat with HopeChat to connect with a local advocate and resources.
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