House Judiciary Committee Approves Goodlatte Legislation to Improve Class Action Rules

Washington, D.C. – The House Judiciary Committee today approved the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2015 (H.R. 1927) by a vote of 15-10. Introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Constitution and Civil Justice Subcommittee Chairman Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act will strengthen federal class action lawsuit rules by helping ensure victims who have experienced actual or comparable injury are justly compensated. 

The bill calls for reforms to the current federal class action lawsuit framework by requiring that classes consist of members with the same type and scope of injury as was intended under the federal class action statute. Under the proposed legislation, uninjured or non-comparably injured parties can still join class actions, but must do so separately from parties that experienced more extensive injury.

Chairman Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Subcommittee Chairman Franks (R-Ariz.) issued the following statements on the Committee’s approval of the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act:

Chairman Goodlatte: “The Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act is a simple, one-page bill that furthers a common sense principle that should apply to class action lawsuits in the future. Only those people who share injuries of the same type and scope should be part of a class action lawsuit. I was proud to help move the Class Action Fairness Actthrough Congress ten years ago, and I was pleased to introduce this legislation along with Subcommittee Chairman Franks. I believe this bill builds upon the important measures of the original Class Action Fairness Act and enhances the protections afforded to victims in class actions, and further reduces wasteful litigation in our courts.

“People who are seriously injured deserve to have their own class actions, in which they present their uniquely powerful cases, and get the larger recoveries they deserve. This legislation brings us a step closer to ensuring justice for victims.”  

Subcommittee Chairman Franks: "The Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act is simple and straightforward, and 78% of Americans support it. The legislation ensures that people who have suffered no injury from products they have purchased aren’t forced into a class action lawsuit against their will, dramatically growing the size of the class for which damages could be awarded. I applaud Chairman Goodlatte for introducing this legislation, which ensures common sense principles apply in class action cases."