The howls of trial lawyers were a delight to the ear last week when American jurisprudence lurched toward sanity in the product liability area.
Earlier this month these suers of the mighty and self-described tribunes of the little guy were celebrating when their favorite politician vetoed a bill that would have limited damages in some lawsuits.
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that an Alabama jury had been a tad generous in awarding a doctor $2 million in damages because he had not been told that his new BMW had been partly repainted, lessening its value.
Then on Thursday a three-judge panel of the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans dismissed the largest class action suit in U.S. history.
The judges ordered a district court judge to dismiss a complaint filed on behalf of 50 million smokers and their survivors against the cigarette industry. The panel said class action was inappropriate as no individuals have won damages from tobacco firms in 40 years of litigation.
New suits, of course, will be filed.
