US Senate Debates Bill To Limit Class Actions

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

08 July 2004

The US Senate on Tuesday began debating the Class Action Fairness Act, which would impose certain restrictions on cases brought against businesses by individuals or small groups on behalf of a larger group, or "class" of people.

The bill currently under discussion in the Republican-controlled upper house would move the majority of class action suits from state to federal courts, as the latter usually accept fewer cases, and grant smaller awards.

It would also clamp down on the practice of venue shopping, whereby attorneys seek to have cases tried in courts which have handed down large damages awards in the past.

Speaking to the Associated Press as debate on the Class Action Fairness Act began, senior counsel for the Consumers Union, Sally Greenberg observed that:

"It's a radical effort by the corporate community to restructure the court system to an environment they think is going to be better for them."

Political observers have suggested that although the GOP may have enough votes to pass the legislation, Democrats in the Senate are likely to piggy-back measures such as an increase in the minimum wage onto the bill, in order to secure a vote on the party's key issues.

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