Robert Seeberger wrote: >2 We care a lot more for our rights and freedoms, than for the minimal >benefits to be gained by giving them up. > I can understand that giving up trial by jury would be a difficult thing for Americans, but there should be some limitations. One simple one is you shouldn't be able to sue for damages incurred during the commission of a crime - that's just silly... I also don't think punitive damages should go to the individual, they should only get real damages and restitution for pain and suffering etc.
But I have a couple of questions: 1. Arbitration and Mediation are taking on as optional preliminary steps prior to a case being heard in many places around the world - is this widespread in the USA too? 2. The cases mentioned were old - does the trend for these massive payouts continue, or is there a more realistic approach occurring now? Australia is (as usual) following the USA, and our courts are now handing out stupid payouts left right and centre, causing a massive crisis in the liability insurance industry, which is now passing this back to consumers. Cheers Russell C.
