Summary of Amendments Submitted to the Rules Committee on
H.R. 2341 - Class Action Fairness Act of 2002
(in alphabetical order)
Tuesday, March 12, 2002 (4:00 p.m.)
Conyers/Jackson-Lee/Neal #6 - Treats a foreign corporation which acquires a domestic corporation in a corporate repatriation transaction as being incorporated in the state under whose laws the acquired domestic corporation was organized. Ensures that a company cannot have a state class action removed to federal court merely by changing its place of incorporation abroad.
Frank/Berman/Meehan #9 - Provides that aspects of class actions filed in state court that could not be maintained under F.R.Civ.P. 23 in federal court would still be heard by a state court rather than either dismissed or removed and remanded. Such an action refused to be heard by the federal court could only be removed again to federal court if it met the diversity standards of 28 U.S.C. Section 1332(a).
Hart #4 - Creates a new section 7 which would require the Judicial Conference of the United States to conduct a study and issue a report, including recommendations, within 12 months, detailing class action fee arrangements and ways they may be improved to benefit class members.
Issa #5 - Creates a new paragraph in Section 3, the “Consumer Class Action Bill of Rights,” which would require class action settlement notices to provide a good faith estimate of the hourly rate that his or her lawyer will be paid.
Jackson-Lee #1 - Prohibits a party to a class action from removing the case to a district court if that party destroys material relating to the subject matter of the class action, or makes a misrepresentation with respect to existence of such materials.
Keller #8 Ensures that when a class action judgment favors the plaintiff that their attorneys must disclose the amount of fees that they intend to collect. The amount must be disclosed to all plaintiffs at the time of rendered judgment or at the time that any award is transmitted to the plaintiffs.
Lofgren/Schiff #7 - Seeks to federalize any state cause of action that is brought on behalf of the general public including civil law enforcement actions brought by local prosecutors. Preserves the ability of local prosecutors to enforce state antitrust and consumer protection laws.
Nadler/Delahunt/Johnson(TX) #2 - Prevents records of class action cases from being sealed, if doing so would harm the public health and safety.
Waters #3 - Addresses parties that withhold or shred documents related to court-ordered discovery. Such parties would be deemed to have admitted to any fact relating to the discovery order.
* Summaries derived from information submitted by the amendment sponsors.
