[darklajid]

Civil cases sounds like - forgive me - 'The coffee is too hot, pay for me enough money to import it fresh using my private jet for the rest of my life' cases.

What I'm trying to say is: I feel there's a difference between a fine ("You're misbehaving, correct that") and greed ("You caused pain and I'm going to benefit here"). Most large-ish rulings in the US that ever reached me are part of the latter.

Then again, this is a matter of culture and might be fine (hah!) in the society that caused this and just look weird from the outside.