Often, a company with only a tangential connection to a case is hit with massive damage judgments merely because it has the resources.

FORBES: Fact and Comment

The judiciary has allowed the "deep- pockets" theory to prevail: Companies with only the most distant, tangential connection to a case have been hit with huge liability judgments.

FORBES: Fact and Comment

And it might just work, if BP can avoid getting dragged into a morass of tangential health claims like the ones that sank just about every company that manufactured or installed asbestos products as a main line of business.

FORBES: Asbestos Is A Good Lesson For BP -- To Avoid