Changing the world, one case at a time The law calls them “tortfeasors” — those who break the rules and injure people. Why do we make them pay for the damage they cause? In part, to make sure that folks who work hard, play fair, and follow the rules are compensated for what is unfairly taken from them — lost wages, a healthy body, and even life itself. But the other reason we make rule-breakers pay is to show them and others that breaking the rules will be costly. There may be a short-term benefit from ignoring safety rules or cheating people, but in the long run breaking the rules hurts us all. So, we make the rule-breakers pay to demonstrate the true cost of their behavior. Taking The Profit Out Of Corporate Rule-Breaking Some of the biggest habitual rule-breakers in our society are corporations. They break the rules to make money and to get an economic advantage over their competitors who do follow the rules. When they are brought to court, payment of full compensation to one individual is often nothing compared to the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars made by breaking the rules. It’s like catching a serial bank robber and making him return the money in his bag but not giving him any jail time. At Friedman | Rubin, we have a long track record of arresting corporate rule-breaking through the use of punitive damages. These are damages the law allows in special circumstances in order to punish rule-breakers and provide an example to others that rule-breaking is costly. Our punitive damage verdicts have changed the way some of our country’s largest corporations do business – resulting in fewer victims and fewer lawsuits. At Friedman | Rubin we believe we have a part to play in policing Corporate America so that it follows the same rules as the rest of us do. With the help of our brave clients, we strive to get judges and juries to see beyond compensation and accomplish the larger social good.