[Cerek the Barbaric]

Actually, Timber, I was wondering if you would be able to "shed some light" on these decisions from a legal standpoint.

One thing I've learned over the years from hearing about frivolous lawsuits and the outrageous awards people receive is that winning the lawsuit is one thing...actually collecting the damages awarded is another matter entirely.

For example, O.J. Simpson lost the civil suit filed against him and the family of his ex-wife received a huge award - but do you think O.J. actually paid any of it? Nope. He claimed his money was "tied up" and that he couldn't liquidate enough assets to cover the settlement. So the victim's family won a moral victory, but little else.

Some of the above examples sound similar to me. For instance, the burglar who won $500,000 for being locked in a garage for 8 days. Do you think the family actually has $500,000 to pay the guy. I doubt it, and I'm sure they appealed the ruling before leaving the court room.

Could you provide any realistic insight (from an "insider's" POV) as to how often awarded damages are actually collected?? It would be interesting to learn, I think.