Remittitur is a Latin term that can be roughly translated as "it is returned [or sent back]."
In U.S. law, it is used to describe legal procedures in which a judge in a civil case lessens the amount awarded by a jury, or an appellate court sends a case back to the trial court.
Remittitur – or the reduction of damages by a judge – is common in lawsuits in which the jury enters a judgment for the plaintiff that provides for more financial compensation than is deemed reasonable, or for more than the plaintiff requested.
Remittitur also transpires when a case is appealed. Specifically, this happens when the higher court completes its review and sends the case back to the lower court for a new trial or for the creation of an order that reflects the higher court's conclusion.