Saying it is a critical step toward ending the lawsuit culture in our country, President Bush signed on Friday a bill that makes it harder for Americans to hold companies accountable that violate state consumer, health, civil rights and environmental protection laws.
The so-called “Class Action Fairness Act 2005″ makes it easier for defendants to move most class action lawsuits from state courts into already overburdened federal courts. Opponents of the bill claim it will keep legitimate claims from being heard because federal judges tend to be less friendly towards such cases.
Class action combines thousands of small claims against a common defendant into one lawsuit.
The anti-consumer bill is a major victory for Republicans, Corporate America and President Bush that have been pushing for pro-business tort reform for many years now. Over 80 civil rights, senior, consumer and environmental organizations opposed the bill.
Passage of the class action bill comes during scandals of corporate wrongdoing in the auto, drug, health care, finance, insurance and securities industry.
(via The White House)
5 responses so far ↓
PRL // Feb 22, 2005 at 6:50 am
What about the 12 cents the plantiffs get while the mass tort laywers get millons, or the higher prices all consumers pay, or the loss of jobs because companies go over seas to avoid unfair jury/court shopping by the lawyers who pay local judges for favorable results….
Concerned Reader // Mar 1, 2005 at 2:48 pm
In response to PRL, take a look at how corporate america has treated american workers:
DOJ Sues W.R. Grace Over Libby, Montana Asbestos Mine
http://www.legalnewswatch.com/news_528.html
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency said today that a federal grand jury in the District of Montana has indicted W.R. Grace and seven current and former Grace executives for knowingly endangering residents of Libby, Montana, and concealing information about the health affects of its asbestos mining operations.
Not to mention all of the corporations who cooked their books and bilked investors out of billions.
What would you believe is fair, if you were one of them?
PRL is Wrong // Mar 9, 2005 at 10:08 am
The point of class actions is not to win a huge compensation for class members. Maybe they were only damaged minimally ($5K). The point of having a class is to allow aggregation of claims to the point where you can get a good attorney to take the case (yes, legal work does actually cost $ - try to use Westlaw or Lexis for free). If the case is enticing enough, the attorney will take it, if the case is meritorious, it may result in a plaintiff’s judgment or settlement. Why give money to the attorney and the many plaintiffs? To make the company smart. To hurt the company so that company takes notice of the LAWS of this country and does not continue violating them, endangering consumers, employees, and every-day citizens. That is what the tort system is about. If you want to complain about people who make money, don’t complain about lawyers. Look to the finance insudtry. Look to the Carlysle Group. PRL, you are either ignorant or simply a propagandist.
Virginia M // Mar 24, 2005 at 12:20 am
What else is new? It is already hard for Citizens to hold it’s gov accountable for wrongdoing by it’s own agencies…I guess this is just the next step in allowing corporations to do the same thing…My thought—) Let’s be like the people of third world countries, buy only your bare necessities, because when it comes down to it, warranties, guarantees, and other promises created to entice consumers to purchase. Try and hold these companies to their promises..and well, you’ll need an honest trustworthy attorney with big ones willing to take it on. I have lost trust and hope in our justice system. Any changes that take place I see as a chess game where as individuals we are powerless to succeed in defending ourselves …. It will take those whom George Washington envisioned as a group of elite capable of realizing change. We deserve justice, but I see the few who complain about unfairness in the courts slowly dissapear from public view. Class action suits have never benefited me as an individual, and some penalties actually are not harsh enough on the companies they are brought against, but even then…if the Goverment wants less lawsuits……when will they actually consider to begin protecting the citizen whom has been wronged somehow…when?
Nanci L. Biggerstaff // Apr 29, 2005 at 5:54 pm
First of all, state courts are just as burdened as federal courts, maybe even more so because of family law matter (which the judges say takes up 80-85 percent of their calendar.
If a person is not good enough to be a plaintiff on his own behalf, then the damages must be low–so stay away from the judicial system altogether and file your claim where it belongs with the state and/or federal wage and hour people.
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