People often mix this up with additur, because both deal with a jury award that the court thinks is off the mark. Remittitur is a judge's reduction of an excessive damages award, usually offered as a choice: accept the lower amount or face a new trial, often limited to damages. Additur goes the other direction, increasing an award the judge considers too low. Same family, opposite problem.

Practically, remittitur comes up after a verdict when the judge decides the evidence does not support the full amount awarded for medical costs, lost earnings, pain and suffering, or other damages. In an injury case, that can change settlement talks fast. A plaintiff may prefer taking the reduced amount rather than spending more time and money on another trial, while a defendant may use the ruling to argue the original verdict was inflated from the start.

In New York, remittitur is closely tied to CPLR 5501(c), which says an award may be set aside if it "deviates materially from what would be reasonable compensation." Appellate courts use that standard often. For someone suing a city agency or the MTA, a remittitur ruling only matters if the case survives the earlier procedural hurdles, including New York's notice of claim rules with a 90-day deadline. Missing that deadline is a much bigger problem than a reduced verdict.