Altering the Economics of Civil Litigation

By limiting abusive punitive damage awards without limiting the abusive tactics of the corporate defense bar, Justice Souter and his colleagues have fundamentally altered the economics of civil litigation and slammed the courthouse door on average citizens with legitimate claims against big and negligent corporations.

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Two housekeeping matters.

Several months ago, I took a swipe at Boeing for whining about losing a big Air Force tanker contract to Northrop Grumman and Airbus. My argument was that, given the long history of controversy surrounding the program, the Air Force was almost certain to have handled this competition by the book -- and in any case, the Air Force was in the best position to decide what was in its own best interests. A recent review by the General Accountability Office suggests I put too much faith in the Air Force's competence.

Also, beginning next week, I will be writing one column, rather than two, each week. My regular schedule will resume in the fall.

Steven Pearlstein can be reached at pearlsteins@washpost.com.