How Much Can Ningbo Mental Damage Compensation Be? Big Data Analysis of Court Cases

A woman from Ningbo discovered that her husband had been cohabiting with another person for a prolonged period during the marriage and is preparing to file for divorce while also seeking compensation for emotional distress. She’d heard from others that some people had received over a hundred thousand yuan, while others had only gotten a few thousand, so she felt uncertain. First, the conclusion: if divorce is caused by bigamy, cohabitation with others, domestic violence, abuse and abandonment of family members or other major mistakes, the innocent party can request compensation for mental damage, but there is no unified national standard for the amount, which is determined by the court according to the degree of fault, damage consequences, local economic level, etc. From the observation of public precedents and local reports, the common support range in Ningbo is from thousands to tens of yuan, bigamy, cohabitation with children and other serious cases can reach about 50,0

00yuan.

1. Basis of the right to claim: the "five types of fault" in Article 1091 of the Civil Code

The legal basis for claiming compensation for mental distress is Article 1091 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China. This provision stipulates that in any of the following circumstances leading to divorce, the faultless party has the right to claim damages: (I) bigamy; (II) cohabitation with another person; (III) domestic violence; (IV) abuse or abandonment of family members; (V) other serious misconduct.

Breaking it down item by item, the threshold for establishing each of these five elements is not the same:

1. Bigamy: refers to a spouse who has registered marriage with others, or has not registered but lives together in the name of husband and wife. In cases constituting bigamy, in addition to civil liability, the conduct may also constitute the crime of bigamy under Article 258 of the Criminal Law. In practice, such cases often require corroborating evidence, such as marriage registration records, household registration changes, or birth certificates.
2. cohabitation with others: refers to the continuous and stable cohabitation between a spouse and the heterosexual outside marriage without using the name of husband and wife. Occasional infidelity, open room records do not necessarily mean cohabitation, the court usually requires time continuity and life of the common evidence.
3. Domestic violence: It is not limited to physical assault that causes bodily harm; it also includes psychological abuse such as frequent verbal abuse and intimidation. Alarm records, warning letters, injury identification and hospital medical records are the core evidence.
4. Abuse and abandonment of family members: Abuse refers to sustained, repeated acts of torment, while abandonment involves the refusal to provide support to elderly, minor, ill, or otherwise incapable family members who are legally entitled to such support.
5. Other major faults: This is the bottom-up clause, which is used to accommodate serious behaviors with the same degree of faults as the above-mentioned situations, such as cheating and giving birth to children with others, gambling and squandering to family breakdown, etc., whether it constitutes a comprehensive discretion of the court.

2. Scope and amount of compensation: Interpretation (I), Article 86, and discretionary factors

Article 86 of the Interpretation (I) of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Marriage and Family Code of the the People's Republic of China Civil Code stipulates that the "damages" stipulated in Article 1091 of the Civil Code includes material damages and mental damages. Where compensation for mental damage is involved, the relevant provisions of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Determination of Liability for Mental Damage in Civil Tort shall apply-the degree of fault listed in the latter, the means and occasions of infringement, the consequences of the behavior, the profit situation of the infringer, Economic capacity and the average living standard of the place where the court is accepted are the reference system for the judge to determine the amount.

The law does not specify the specific amount of moral damages. From the observation of judicial practice, the compensation for mental damages in divorce is generally lower than that in general infringement cases: the common support range in first-tier cities is 10000 yuan to 100000 yuan, most of which are within tens of thousands of yuan. In the samples of public reports and judgments in Ningbo and other parts of Zhejiang, the amount of compensation is mostly 5000 yuan to 50000 yuan, which is directly related to the fault circumstances, duration, whether there are children born out of wedlock, whether physical injury and local economic level. If the claimed amount is excessively high, the court will reduce it in accordance with the law; if it is set too low, it will be difficult to increase it later. Therefore, the amount of damages requested in the complaint should be based on local case law and fall within a reasonable range.

also need to distinguish a set of concepts: compensation for moral damage is a claim independent of the division of property, which does not affect the division ratio of common property; but the fault party may be less divided due to the principle of taking care of the no-fault party when dividing common property. The two are parallel and are often combined in practice.

3. Key points for presenting evidence and evidence checklists for different fault scenarios.

Evidence determines success or failure. Prepare the supporting materials according to the specific circumstances so that you can firmly establish “fault” in court:

1. For those who advocate cohabitation with others, collect the photos and videos of both parties entering and leaving the residence together, the testimonies of the property and neighbors, the rental contract, the itinerary records of traveling together, the expressions about cohabitation in WeChat chat, etc., to form the evidence chain of "continuous, stable and cohabitation.
2. Those who advocate domestic violence should report to the police at the first time and ask for the receipt of the report, keep the warning letter of domestic violence issued by the public security organ, seek medical treatment in time and save the diagnosis certificate and medical bill, and apply for injury identification if necessary; the record of multiple reports is more favorable than that of single report.
3. In cases alleging bigamy, obtain marriage registration records, children’s birth certificates, and household registration information; where necessary, apply to the court for investigation and evidence collection.
4. electronic evidence fixation: chat records and transfer records should be kept in the original carrier, and the key contents should be notarized or fixed with credible timestamps as far as possible, so as to avoid the authenticity being questioned due to only submitting screenshots or deleting the original records.
5. Evidence of Harm: Psychiatric or mental health diagnoses obtained from medical visits due to domestic violence or psychological trauma can serve as proof of mental harm and may help increase the amount awarded at the court’s discretion.

Timing and procedure proposed by the 4.: Missing the opportunity will forfeit the right

There are strict rules regarding the timing of filing a claim for compensation, which is a common pitfall leading to losing cases in practice. According to Articles 87 through 89 of Interpretation (I):

1. The party liable for damages is the spouse who is not at fault, that is, the other party in the divorce proceedings; the third party is not a party obligated to pay compensation, and claims against the third party generally lack a legal basis.
2. If the innocent party brings divorce proceedings as the plaintiff, the claim for damages must be brought together in the divorce proceedings.
3. If the innocent party, as the defendant, does not agree to divorce and does not claim damages in the divorce proceedings initiated by the other party, it can file a separate lawsuit after the divorce (the current judicial interpretation does not set a separate time limit for this situation, and it will be handled according to the ordinary statute of limitations); if it is not filed in the first instance and filed in the second instance, the court will mediate first, and if the mediation fails to inform another lawsuit.
4. After both parties agree to divorce, if the innocent party sues for damages on the grounds of Article 1091 of the Civil Code, the court shall accept it; however, if the request has been explicitly abandoned at the time of divorce by agreement, or if it is put forward one year after the divorce registration procedure, it will not be supported-the so-called "one year" boundary is here, which is aimed at the situation of another claim after the divorce by agreement.
5. In cases where the court has ruled against granting a divorce, claims for damages brought by the parties shall not be supported; if a party files a separate lawsuit seeking compensation during the subsistence of the marital relationship without divorcing, the court shall not accept the case.

5. Common Misconceptions

Misunderstanding 1: As long as the other party is derailed, he can get high compensation. Positive solution: occasional infidelity is not equal to "cohabitation with others", and cohabitation determined by the court should have the characteristics of continuous and stable cohabitation; if the fault is minor, the amount of compensation will be limited, and it may even be rejected due to insufficient evidence.

Misconception No. 2: One can demand hundreds of thousands of yuan in compensation for emotional distress. Positive explanation: the amount of such compensation is generally not high, and the claim of hundreds of thousands of yuan is hard to be supported. The court will decide according to the local economic level and the damage consequences, and the part that is obviously too high will be lowered.

Misunderstanding 3: Claims for compensation can be made at any time. Positive explanation: in principle, the lawsuit for divorce should be brought together with the lawsuit for divorce; after the divorce by agreement, another claim is subject to the time limit of "within one year after the divorce registration", which clearly indicates that those who give up can no longer claim.

Misunderstanding 4: If both parties are at fault, they cannot claim it at all. Positive solution: If both parties have statutory fault, the court usually no longer supports the claim of the no-fault party, or reduces it as appropriate; the minor fault of one party does not constitute a statutory situation, which does not affect the other party's claim for damages.

6. What factors determine the amount: a breakdown of the six discretionary factors one by one.

Although the law does not stipulate the specific amount, the six factors listed in Article 5 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Determination of Compensation Liability for Mental Damage in Civil Tort are the common reference system for judges to decide compensation for mental damage in divorce, and the impact on the amount is explained item by item:

1. The fault degree of the fault party: the longer the duration of cohabitation, the worse the circumstances (such as bigamy and giving birth to children), the higher the discretionary amount; occasionally misstep, minor circumstances, the amount is obviously lower.
2. The specific circumstances such as the means, occasion and behavior of the infringement: Whether domestic violence causes consequences above minor injuries, whether it is carried out in front of children, and whether it is long-term mental control will affect the evaluation.
3. Consequences of the tort: Whether the non‑faulting party has experienced depression, sought medical treatment, or lost their job; whether their social reputation has been damaged— the more comprehensive the evidence of the damages, the stronger the basis for determining the amount of compensation.
4. the profit situation of the party at fault: if the common property is used for extramarital gifts, it will not only affect the amount of compensation, but also involve the issue of returning the gifts.
5. The financial ability of the fault party to bear the responsibility: if the judgment is not executed, it is equal to the judgment in vain, and the court will decide the amount of "the judgment can be made and the execution can be made" according to the income and property status of the other party.
6. The average standard of living in the location of the court of first instance: This is the structural reason why compensation in the Ningbo area generally falls short of that in first-tier cities, and it also serves as a legitimate basis for “different verdicts in similar cases.”

Combined with public reports and judges' observation, the amount of compensation in Ningbo area shows obvious stratification: if the circumstances are minor or the evidence is insufficient, the compensation may only be several thousand yuan or even rejected; if the circumstances are serious, such as bigamy, cohabitation with children, domestic violence and injury, it can reach tens of thousands of yuan; in the case of economic compensation (such as one-time assistance, housing arrangement) and mental damage compensation, the total payment will be higher-the claim should refer to the local range, but also around the six factors to write the "plot.

7. Typical scenarios of dismissal and losing a case: pitfalls to avoid

In practice, claims for compensation for non‑pecuniary damage are often dismissed not because of any defects in the relevant legal provisions, but rather because they fall into one of the following categories of pitfalls:

1. The object is wrong: sue a third party for compensation, or list the former spouse who has been divorced for many years as the object-the subject of compensation obligation is the spouse of the party without fault, and the claim must be put forward at the time of divorce or within one year after the divorce agreement.
2. Insufficient evidence: only doubts, rumors or single chat screenshots cannot prove the fact of "continuous and stable co-living" or domestic violence, and the court cannot support it.
3. Not raised concurrently in the divorce action: If, as the plaintiff, one files for divorce without seeking damages but later pursues such claims separately, there is no longer a procedural avenue for doing so (except where such claims are asserted within one year following a divorce by mutual agreement).
4. Both parties are at fault: if one party claims that the other party is cohabiting, and the other party disproves that the other party also has a major fault and is verified, the court usually no longer supports it or reduces it significantly.
5. The amount of money is obviously out of reality: it costs hundreds of thousands of yuan as soon as you open your mouth, and if the plot is ordinary, the court will lower it as a whole, instead, it is better to get support after claiming according to a reasonable range.

8. FAQ

If the only evidence of the husband cohabiting with another person is chat records, is that sufficient?

A single chat screenshot proves limited power. It is recommended to strengthen the physical evidence, witness and itinerary records of common residence, and notarize the electronic evidence or make a time stamp. Only doubts, rumors or single screenshots, the court usually does not determine the fact of cohabitation.

When mediating divorce, we didn't mention compensation for mental damage. Can we ask for it again?

The key lies in the form of settlement through mediation and whether rights have been waived. If the lawsuit is divorced through mediation and the mediation agreement does not involve damages and does not expressly give up, whether there is a dispute can be claimed separately. It is safe to explicitly reserve or resolve it together in the mediation agreement to avoid passivity afterwards.

The other party has no assets; even if a judgment is rendered for compensation for mental distress, it cannot be enforced. Is it still worth pursuing?

Should still be asserted. The claim confirmed by the judgment shall not be extinguished because the other party has no property for the time being, and the execution may be resumed when the other party has property available for execution.

It has been three years since the divorce, can you still claim compensation for mental damage?

In divorce proceedings initiated through litigation, claims not raised at the same time are generally difficult to pursue subsequently; in cases of divorce by agreement, claims filed more than one year after the completion of the divorce registration are typicallyNo support (not supported). If, after divorce, you discover that the other party has concealed a legally recognized fault, you should promptly gather evidence and seek professional legal advice—do not delay.

The court has awarded compensation for emotional distress. What should I do if the other party fails to comply?

can apply for compulsory execution according to the effective judgment: the court can inquire, freeze and withhold the bank deposit of the other party, seize and auction his real estate and vehicles, put them into the list of those who break their promises and restrict high consumption. If the execution is not in place, the creditor's rights confirmed by the judgment will not be eliminated, and the execution can be resumed when the other party has property; if the other party's property clues are grasped at the stage of prosecution or application for preservation, the probability of compensation will be significantly increased.

Practical experience of 9. lawyers

To claim this kind of compensation, first look at what kind of legal fault you fall into, and then decide where to spend your energy. Between several types of legal circumstances, the focus of proof and the logical difference of compensation is not small. If it is a simple emotional discord or a temporary quarrel, basically can not go to the compensation step.Therefore, the first step is to judge the nature of the case and consider "whether or not to claim" and "how much to claim" separately. Don't report a high number as soon as you come up. No amount of evidence is needed in the wrong direction.

The effort of proof is more important than the price. The focus of evidence collection in different fault situations is different, but the commonality is the time, continuity and external impact of the fixed behavior, so that the judge can see the severity of the fault. There is no unified standard for the amount of money. It depends on the degree of fault, the consequences, the local economic level, and the economic capabilities of both parties. It is argued that too high is not supported, and that too low is a loss. It is prudent to propose a reasonable amount in the light of the common range of local disclosure of similar cases, together with a statement of the basis of the amount, so that the claim appears to be based on evidence.

Procedural time points are easily overlooked. As the spouse of the wrong party, he usually has to file a claim for compensation in divorce proceedings. After divorce, his claim alone often fails due to the subject or timing. If it is a divorce by agreement, it must be stated in the agreement whether to give up the request or not, and don't go back on your word afterwards. Negotiations can be packaged with other points of contention, but it should also be clear that it is usually not the subject of income, property division and maintenance arrangements are the focus, the compensation in the overall plan to weigh, so as not to be led by it.

Whether and how much compensation for mental damage can be obtained depends on three variables: whether the fault has reached the legal situation, whether the evidence can form a complete chain, and whether the request is made at the right time. Among the three, the time point is the most easily ignored-the lawsuit should be filed with the divorce lawsuit, and the claim after the agreement divorce is limited by one year. It is suggested that parties who are experiencing similar situations should first fix the evidence such as alarm records, medical records, chat records and so on and notarize them, then put forward a reasonable amount in combination with local precedents, and finally make a clear request in the divorce procedure under professional guidance to avoid "winning the truth and losing the opportunity".