The Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017 passed in the House late Thursday, which is a bill that would effectively gut consumer rights, including the right to file class action lawsuits.

If the proposed legislation becomes law, it could apply retroactively to pending class action lawsuits and get them thrown out of court.

This legislation will make it nearly impossible for consumers to join together and hold companies accountable in a court of law.

The bill is now headed to the Senate. If you want to see Consumer Rights protected, contact your state’s U.S. Senators today and tell them to vote NO on H.R. 985, the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017. Your senators can be reached by calling the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and asking the operator to connect you with their offices. 

Why You Should Oppose the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act

Although the title of the bill seems innocent enough, the actual provisions drastically limit consumers’ legal rights regarding class action litigation. It sends a clear message to corporations that they can prioritize their profits over the health and safety of the consumers who buy their products.

What’s So Great About Class Action Lawsuits?

Class action lawsuits are an essential tool used by consumers to hold corporations accountable for fraudulent, deceptive, and illegal actions. They also make it feasible for a large group of consumers to participate in litigation that would otherwise not be financially possible.

Class action lawsuits help protect the rights of people who have been victims of fraud, product defects, sexual harassment, wage and hour violations, and other types of wrongful conduct.

Without the ability to file class action lawsuits on behalf of a large group of affected consumers, there is essentially no legal way to hold companies accountable for their wrongful actions. This is especially true when it comes to matters that are only worth a few dollars to each plaintiff. A class action lawsuit can be a useful tool for making sure companies adhere to the law, no matter how small the violation is.

This is especially true when it comes to matters that are only worth a few dollars to each plaintiff. A class action lawsuit can be a useful tool for making sure companies adhere to the law, no matter how small the violation may be.

What Does the Proposed Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act Entail?

The proposed Fairness in Class Action Litigation bill would impose many more restrictions on the rights of consumers to hold corporations accountable through class action lawsuits. In fact, most class action lawsuits would be eliminated because the requirements are nearly impossible to meet. Under the proposed litigation, Class Members must have

In fact, most class action lawsuits would be eliminated because the requirements are nearly impossible to meet. Under the proposed litigation, Class Members must have the same type and same scope of injury as the Class Representative.

What does this mean? This means that thousands of people may have been injured by the same alleged misconduct by a corporation, but if their losses were not nearly identical to the lead plaintiff’s, the plaintiff would lack standing to bring the class action lawsuit.

As a result, the injured consumers would likely be without a legal remedy because the cost of bringing an individual lawsuit for many cases would be far higher than the potential recovery, making it financially impractical to sue the corporation for the alleged wrongdoing.

H.R. 985 also allegedly interferes with a lawyer’s ability to represent clients in class action lawsuits. Some of the restrictions proposed in the bill include prohibiting attorneys from representing a family member or employee of their law firm in a class action lawsuit and prohibiting attorneys from representing a client that the attorney has previously represented regarding a different matter. These provisions interfere with the contractual rights between private parties.

Even more troubling is that some of the bill’s most imposing provisions apply only to plaintiffs and their attorneys, not the defendants accused of wrongdoing. Some of these onerous provisions include a stay on discovery, the requirement to prove causation and liability before discovery commences in multidistrict litigation, the prohibition against plaintiffs joining together in the same case, and a third-party funding disclosure.

These provisions impose significant burdens on plaintiffs who have allegedly been harmed by the defendant’s wrongdoing. Fee restrictions only apply to plaintiffs’ attorneys, while corporate defendants are not limited by any restrictions to the amount of money they can spend defending themselves from the litigation.

The Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act seeks to impose excessive burdens on plaintiffs and their attorneys to make it harder for them to bring a class action lawsuit. At the same time, the bill proposes to stack the odds in favor of the defendants, allowing them the opportunity to drive plaintiffs’ costs up so much that they drop the case or accept a low-ball settlement.

At the same time, the bill proposes to stack the odds in favor of the defendants, allowing them the opportunity to drive plaintiffs’ costs up so much that they drop the case or accept a low-ball settlement.

Do You Enjoy Getting Class Action Settlement Money?

Top Class Actions was created with the goal of connecting consumers to settlements, lawsuits, and attorneys, helping them make sure they are informed about their legal rights and ensuring they learn about any class action settlements that may owe them free money. Some consumers have received thousands of dollars in settlement checks simply from reading Top Class actions and filing claims for settlements they qualify for.

If H.R. 985 is passed, our livelihood is in jeopardy, but more importantly, your ability to benefit from class action settlements is also at stake. Fewer class action lawsuits will be filed, and those that are filed are far more likely to be dismissed at an early stage of the litigation.

These limits apply to all class action lawsuits, no matter the type of harm suffered or the egregiousness of a corporation’s conduct. That means fewer cases will reach settlements and fewer cases will go to trial. As a result, the consumers who have been injured by a defendant’s wrongdoing will not get the compensation they deserve and the defendants will not be forced to change their wrongful conduct.

As a result, the consumers who have been injured by a defendant’s wrongdoing will not get the compensation they deserve and the defendants will not be forced to change their wrongful conduct. Any way you look at it, consumers lose. That means that you lose.

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

Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask the operator to connect you with your state’s senators. Then ask your Representative to vote NO on the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act. Let your Representative know that you support consumers’ rights and that you want to retain the right to use class action litigation to hold corporations accountable for wrongdoing.