The trolls demand a settlement fee, which many of the victims pay rather than face the punitive cost of litigation—$2m or more these days.Technology Quarterly Ghost ships Going with the flow Can parallel lines meet?
Trolls (known in the legal world as "patent assertion entities" or "non-practicing entities") exist solely to buy obscure patents, not to make anything, but to bully other firms that allegedly infringe them into paying a settlement fee, or face the punitive cost of litigation.
Funds could come from several sources, including the addition of fees to high-ticket corporate litigation and punitive awards.
Even if they are awarded, he said, BP is likely to fight punitive damage awards, extending the litigation into the years to come.
But the committee's ranking Republican, Rep. Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania, defended the companies, arguing that "it appears mine operators are simply adapting to a punitive new regulatory environment that favors litigation and conflict over collaboration".
Two decades of litigation and appeals resulted in punitive damages being reduced from $5 billion to $500 million.
Dram shop and social host litigation may involve both compensatory and punitive damages.
A small part can do great harm, if bad publicity leads to reputational corrosion, lost sales and litigation, which in America can include hefty punitive damages.
Mr. Hantler said the new suit, which seeks additional compensation and punitive damages, is part of the company's larger litigation strategy.
Indeed, an aide said that Mr. Kushner views the $508,900 that he agreed to pay not as a penalty -- the 10-page settlement agreement does not refer to the payment as a fine or other punitive measure -- but as a way to avoid litigation.
