Re:State court orders Kickstarted game creator to pay $54k f...
by thedufer on Saturday September 12, 2015 @01:26AM
(#10207348)
> A 50:1 ratio applied in all 50 states would yield a whopping 2500:1 ratio of punitive to actual damages.
That's not how it works. If we use actual numbers, you get $1k x 50 = $50k in restitution (same as what you got), and $50k x 50 = $2.5M (1/50 of what you got).
Which isn't unreasonable. If the worst possible penalty for a scam was having to pay it all back, people would do it all the time! And if the people bringing the lawsuit have a best-case scenario of getting their money back, minus $23k in lawyer fees, no one would ever sue anyway. Best case, you lose $22k.
That's not how it works. If we use actual numbers, you get $1k x 50 = $50k in restitution (same as what you got), and $50k x 50 = $2.5M (1/50 of what you got).
Which isn't unreasonable. If the worst possible penalty for a scam was having to pay it all back, people would do it all the time! And if the people bringing the lawsuit have a best-case scenario of getting their money back, minus $23k in lawyer fees, no one would ever sue anyway. Best case, you lose $22k.