> Allowing a jury to pluck 9-digit numbers from thin air to be reduced later is stupid.

That's not how civil jury trials work. Not only are juries specifically instructed that they can't just make up damages numbers, but a significant amount of the courtroom time will be dedicated to both sides presenting arguments for specific damage amounts with detailed justifications, expert witnesses, etc. I'm not saying trials never result in wonky damages amounts, but the idea that juries generally just randomly pick the biggest number they can think of is largely a media created fiction.