To take away class action punishment awards, or capping them, is only chipping away at Constitutional guarantees.

And besides all that….my post was on McCain and his love affair with Justices who have love affairs going on with the powerful.

Ipso facto….vote Obama.

But you say the system is working fine as long as we're reminded that this nation has laws. That's the part I thought you were joking about.

King: You say…

"The only proposal I ever heard was to cap monetary awards."

Oh, that's the only one, huh? That's a pretty big "only".

If mammoth corporations do not have to concern themselves with any wild-card punishments for, you know, negligence…..then why would they give a damn about preventing the negligent acts from happening?

These mountains of money and privilege known as corporations would simply be able to plug in to their budgets whatever percentage they need to in order to pay for medical costs, etc. resulting from their indifference and neglect.

Taking away punitive damages IS outlawing class action suits in a manner of speaking. In addition, that's all GOP'ers ever talk about is tort reform. The Ohio Supreme Court has already institutionalized anti-Constitution rules for the sake of big business.

Second. It is purely unConstitutional for "the jury of our peers" part to be excised for the benefit of huge monied interests. Republicans say it's perfectly fine to honor the Constitution EXCEPT when it isn't.

Exxon has incurred costs that you didn't mention, including the cleanup effort that cost $2.5 billion, and another $1.1 billion in various settlements. Exxon didn't walk away scot-free as you implied, but neither did the penalties cause them any real harm. This class action you are speaking of came from a 1994 suit, where a federal jury fined Exxon an additional $5 billion for its "recklessness," which Exxon appealed. That is the specific issue Roberts is addressing.

And since when have Republicans ever proposed we outlaw class action lawsuits ? That's a new one on me. The only proposal I ever heard was to cap monetary awards. That idea sounds reasonable. Btw, even at the $5 billion award amount, this class action wouldn't have come anywhere close to the max tort caps I've heard tossed about. As usual, I suspect you are making most of this stuff up.

The thinking seems to be, why even allow class action suits? If thousands of indiviuals do not profit somehow from these suits, why even do them?

The strongest reason I can think of flies in the face of another problem conservatives seem to have.

Accountability.

Class action lawsuits are meant to deter mammoth corporations from, you now, effing everything and everybody up and then simply walking away from taking responsibility for their actions. Think George W. Bush. Think of it in the same way that conservatives TALK about capital punishment being a deterrent.

Oh, but that would mean mammoth corporations wouldn't just be able to do what they wanted, you know, to stay competitive. Right?

Now I suppose we could outlaw class action suits, like Republicans would have America do, but then when thousands of Americans died from toxic products, children were born deformed, geographical areas in America were cordoned off because they had become polluted so badly…..then what? What would we do? Send a 'please don't do this anymore' letter out?

Why conservatives rail against accountability for the powerful is beyond my comprehension. Accountability, like Leona's views on taxes, must only be for "the little people."

The answer to your question, "what's the advantage to the situation?", is that no person, group, business, or multi-national is above being held responsible for their actions. It very well may be an insignificant ruling after 19 years but at least it reminds us that America still has laws that are enforced.

Conservatives aren't against law and order, are they?

What's the advantage to the present situation, except the large number that makes headlines? The plaintiffs will get next to nothing but it's pretty much business as usual for Exxon and the lucky lawyers.

I've personally been the beneficiary of several credit card/insurance/consumer/etc. class action law suits and would be about 50 cents the richer for it if I had signed the forms they send out. I assume those companies ripped me off for an amount greater than that and the lawsuits are well worth it for them.

The oil companies were also negligent because they did not keep the oil spill recovery equipment in good order. There had been a minor spill a few weeks earlier and the lazy b*st*rds didn't bother to clean and store the equipment properly for the next spill. So when the Exxon Valdez pinnacled on Bligh Reef, the oil companies could not do much to capture the oil.

Visigoths.

But 22,000 cases winding for 20 years through the maze instead of one?

The powerful have control. It's why we call them the powerful.