That is not accurate. A lawsuit for a car accident will most likely be for negligence, which requires proof of negligence. If a mechanic fails to fix your brakes correctly, you will not be liable unless you are negligent in not discovering the faulty repair. The person you hit because of the bad breaks couldn't collect from you, but potentially could from the mechanic.

Having worked as a class action attorney, I do agree with you to a certain extent. Many class actions are simply shakedowns by plaintiff attorneys. But they can also be one of the only ways to hold a company liable for their wrongdoing. Are you, or anyone for that matter, going to sue Valve/Steam for $50? I know I wouldn't go through the hassle of a lawsuit for so little money, even if I had a bulletproof case. And this works to the company's advantage because if they can take $50 from a million people through wrongful means, but none of those people will sue individually, then the company essentially just stole $50 million with no risk.

Granted, the attorneys on both sides see most of the money. But if you look at class actions as taking unjust gains away from companies, rather than reimbursing consumers, class action are, other than government action, the only way to really hold these companies accountable for their actions.

How about this? By pledging his allegiance to an enemy of the United State and actively plotting to kill Americans, he effectively renounced his citizenship, thereby losing his right to the due process reserved for citizens under the Constitution. This wasn't some random person that didn't like the US that was killed. He was openly and actively working with our enemy to kill us. I'd much prefer that someone like him is killed while still planing attacks than waiting for definitive proof of an attack, i.e., the attack actually taking place.