HR 985 Sets Sights on Destroying Class Action Lawsuits

The future of class action lawsuits is in danger as Congress is set to vote on a bill that will make it nearly impossible for plaintiffs to represent a Class of consumers.

This bill—H.R. 985, or the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act—has already passed the House. Consumers need to contact their Senators immediately to urge them to reject this attack on consumers’ rights.

Representative Robert Goodlatte last year introduced a portion of H.R. 985 that would essentially mean that Class Members’ damages would have to be identical in order to justify a class action lawsuit. If this bill passes, it will mean that many cases that are currently handled in class action litigation will have to be filed by individual plaintiffs—which is cost-prohibitive in most cases.

Class action lawsuits are extremely important tools for holding corporations accountable for wrongful acts. An individual consumer may not face significant losses because of the wrongdoing (perhaps they paid a couple of dollars more for a mislabeled product than they would have if the label were accurate), but if you multiply the miniscule losses over several thousand consumers, it may amount to millions of dollars that the company has received due to its deceptive or misleading conduct.

In this case, it doesn’t make sense for a consumer to file an individual lawsuit to seek a couple of dollars. But under H.R. 985, it might not be possible for a plaintiff to represent a Class of consumers who purchased the same product because not all consumers purchased the same amount of the product and therefore their damages are not identical.

This means that, without the ability to file a class action lawsuit, there is virtually no way for a consumer to attempt to hold a corporation accountable for alleged wrongdoing.

In addition, Goodlatte added provisions that would require the ability to identify every putative Class Member—information that is often impossible or impracticable to learn, especially in the early stages of litigation.

H.R. 985 also imposes serious hurdles in plaintiffs’ ability to find a lawyer to represent them in a class action lawsuit. According to the bill, if a lawyer has represented a client before, the lawyer cannot represent the same client in a class action lawsuit.

Top Class Actions has devoted countless hours to ensuring consumers are aware of pending class action litigation and mass torts. We help them get connected to attorneys who can help them with legal claims. We have also helped connect consumers to millions of dollars in settlement money that they may not have otherwise known they were eligible to claim.

Our loyal viewers count on us to provide them with news and updates about class action lawsuits and settlements that directly affect them. If the Senate passes H.R. 985, it could end up killing Top Class Actions.

What Can I Do to Stop H.R. 985 From Passing?

Please contact your state’s senators and urge them to vote NO on the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act. It’s simple—just contact the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask the operator to connect you with your state’s senators. Let your senator know that you support consumers’ rights to use class action lawsuits to hold corporations accountable for wrongdoing.

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