Civil damages.

Existing law authorizes the plaintiff, in an action for the breach of an obligation not arising from contract, when it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant has been guilty of oppression, fraud, or malice, to recover damages for the sake of example and by way of punishing the defendant in addition to the actual damages. Existing law authorizes the court, for good cause, to grant a defendant a protective order requiring the plaintiff to produce evidence of a prima facie case of liability for exemplary damages prior to the introduction of certain evidence. This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to those provisions.