These days, sport utility vehicles seem to dominate many American highways, and this week two of the corporations producing the tires that SUVs ride on and the oil they use are in the legal spotlight. On Thursday, November 9, Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. announced it will give $500,000 to each of the 50 US states, DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands to settle claims over allegedly faulty tires linked to 271 deaths and more than 800 injuries. Also this week, a federal appeals court ruled that the $5.3 billion in punitive damages that the Exxon Corporation was fined for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off of coastal Alaska was excessive.