Big oil-corporate giants continue to take free rides by Dallas Personal Injury Plaintiff Lawyer
Big money companies like Exxon continue to escape large jury verdicts.
AmericanInjuryNews.com-The United States legal system seems to be missing the boat on punishing wealthy corporate wrongdoers. Bloomberg reported today that large punitive damages awards seem to be nonexistent in U.S. courtrooms across the country. Punitive damages are awarded by juries to punish big companies for their over the top greed tactics. Large scale manufacturers and corporate giants continue to prey on the average consumer and employee. Punitive damages are awarded by juries to punish big companies for their over the top greed tactics to make more money.
Juries in 2008 awarded no billion-dollar verdicts. Yet, Mr. Maddoff seems to have escaped with some $50 billion dollars. Bloomberg News revealed in 2007, there was only one verdict of $1.5 billion. For the 14 years prior there was at least one billion dollar verdict a year with a total of 26. The US Chamber of Commerce has spent over $100 million in the last 5 years trying to convince the public that accountability through the civil justice system equals frivolous lawsuits. The U.S. Chambers continued efforts to buy political connections in state and national elections, both in legislative and judicial races will only further attempt to limit all damages – not just punitive.
We continue to see this over and over again in the media in the past ten years. Employees losing their pensions and entire life savings (Enron, Tyco); home owners becoming homeless, (Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae); citizens breathing and drinking toxic air and water (Tennessee Valley Authority/Exxon); consumers being injured and killed by products known to be defective (Bridgestone-Firestone Tires/Yamaha Rhino/Melamine contaminated milk). It just goes on and on.
Apparently, juries can award the damages and judges can simply throw out the punishment as excessive. The whole point of a punitive damages awards is to “hit them where it hurts” to deter corporate executives of repeating their heinous irresponsibility to line their pockets again and again. Companies need to have some incentive to consider the possible consequences of widespread injuries and damages to consumers, employees, and our environment before they act.
Ten of the 12 biggest all-time awards were cut or reversed. One of the most shocking cases is the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal last June of the Exxon-Valdez oil-spill verdict. The original jury verdict of $5 billion in punitive damages (equivalent to a single year’s profit by Exxon at the time of the spill) was reduced to $2.5 billion in punitive damages by a judge in 2002. Exxon appealed again. The Supreme Court reversed the verdict replacing it with $507 million saying the jury verdict was excessive. Are you ready for the SHOCK…Exxon Mobile still managed to earn a net profit of $500 million in just four business days during the fourth quarter last year. I guess 20 days of net profit is still too high of a price for Exxon to pay for the catastrophic damages and deaths to our environment. Let’s be honest anyway…Exxon wouldn’t be footing the bill it would just be coming out of consumers pockets with their increase in oil prices.
According to Wikipedia www.wikipedia.org, the Exxon-Valdez oil spill is considered one of the most devastating man-made environmental disasters ever to occur at sea. One of the world’s largest oil spills eventually covering 11,000 square miles and killing billions of animals including otters, fish, seals, and seabirds devastating the geographical area and its consumers. Almost 20 years later, scientists have found the massive oil spill to continue to severely affect Prince William Sound.
Big manufactures will take the gamble every time if they are not concerned about the financial consequences. It is human nature!
AmericanInjuryNews.com by Dallas Injury Lawyer Amy K. Witherite
Practice areas: Personal Injury Plaintiff
Amy Witherite. Eberstein & Witherite, LLP. 3100 Monticello Avenue, Suite 500. Dallas, TX 75205 - Toll Free: (888) 407-6669
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