Big damages against Exxon reduced--it doesn't make headlines though

Here's an example of the stuff that goes on in court cases that rarely make the big headlines.

It makes front page news when we hear about a woman winning a large damage award from McDonalds for spilling coffee on herself. What you don't read in the papers is how the court reduced her award.

Why is that? Because the amount actually received is always in line with what one would expect and not really a headline maker.

In this story, Exxon had its damage award from the Valdez oil spill reduced to a quarter of what the jury awarded.

Normally, a remittitur is within the court's discretion. Sometimes though, I think it a violation of the jury's power to change the award unilaterally.