East Texas jury nails Apple with $625 million patent infringement verdict

[TexasTowelie]

6. My job experience was with bodily injury claims so it does differ from this case which is a patent

lawsuit.

When it involves bodily injury claims then I tend to favor the injured party in most instances. My view is that when cap limits were applied to damages it transfers the cost of taking care of the injured party away from the corporations that were either liable or negligent back to the general public. I don't think that it is appropriate for the taxpayers to subsidize a for-profit entity.

When the defendant is a public entity such as a municipality then I do realize the need for capping jury awards since I did see some cases where the injured party effectively won the lottery and the amount of compensation was excessive. On the other hand, it probably amounts to an even wash between collecting a settlement or being forced into some other form of social assistance. It does certainly put the person that has been injured into a weaker position and more stress by being limited under tort law.

When it involves corporate entities as both the plaintiff and the defendant then I don't have much sympathy whatsoever. I'm simply apathetic as to which party has a better profit in 99% of the cases.

FWIW, I was probably the most liberal and conscientious of the effects on social policy when changes in tort law were being considered. My colleagues tended to be pro-insurance industry and concerned about their profit margins than I ever was.