it's also not illegal to sell cigarettes. however, misleading people about their effects, even by omission, has been deemed sufficient for the cigarette manufacturers to settle with the states to the tune of many billions of dollars.

there is a significant difference between a fine, which depends on enacted law, and an award, which is based on a perceived wrong which may or may not have been legislated against.

civil suits are also the last recourse of ordinary people such as the family of Nicole Brown Simpson against defendants who are so wealthy or powerful as to be virtually immune to prosecution.

this also justifies the size of lawyer's fees, as the corporation will easily spend just as much on their own team of lawyers.

the civil court system is the last equalizer between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak.