For the second time in the past three years, there were no jury awards above $1 billion in 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. In 2007, there was one such verdict, for $1.5 billion.

In the previous 14 years, there was at least one billion-dollar verdict a year, for a total of 26. Six cases produced awards of more than $5 billion each.

One reason for the drop is changes in legal rulings. Because punitive-damage verdicts can be thrown out if they far exceed actual damages, some lawyers don’t bother seeking amounts that clearly violate the rules.

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Jury verdicts rarely top a billion dollars | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press.