POLITICS: Class-Action Suits

Robert J. Bradbury (bradbury@www.aeiveos.com)
Fri, 24 Sep 1999 01:42:30 -0700 (PDT)

For those of you who read the NY Times or want to subscribe to it in electronic form, you may want to look at:

http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/class-action-limit.html

"House Approves Bill That Would Make Class-Action Suits Harder
to Win"

It is a general effort to move class action law suits from state courts into federal courts. The article comments on efforts (and contributions by) companies involved in tobacco, guns and health care to push this legislation forward.

Quotes:

"This represents a sealed, locked, closed and forever impenetrable door to justice," said Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee, Democrat of Texas.

Other opponents called the bill a form of "backdoor immunity" for tobacco companies and gun makers.

"Opponents of the legislation said it was outrageous for a Congress that

     had left so many Federal judgeships vacant, by failing to confirm White
     House's nominees, to be broadly expanding the caseload of an already
     overworked Federal judiciary."
       { the rationale being that moving cases from the state courts to the
         federal courts would result in their being delayed or simply thrown
         out. }

The bill was gnerally supported by Republicans and opposed by Democrats.

Robert