This is Getting Out of Hand

[Beestie]

When the courts stop awarding punative damages to the plaintiff this bullshit will cease. I don't have a problem with punative damages being levied against "guilty" defendants (its not really guilt in a civil case) but the punative award should be routed to a state-level victim's fund and the plaintiff's bounty should be capped at compensatory damages plus reasonable attorney's fees. Most of the lawyers who create these cases out of whole cloth should be horsewhipped in the town square and the judges who are reluctant to throw their golf-buddies' cases out of court aren't far behind.

The American Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA) and the legislators on their payroll if not their membership roster are collectively about one or two steps removed from organized crime.