The Bush Effect. Screwing the lawyers is a very good move.
--now let's march on to protection of manufacturers of anything from frivolous suits over illegal or unsafe use of the product--
So does this mean the Vioxx lawyers who are advertising all over the place on TV saying "have you been harmed by Vioxx, call us now as you may be entitled to a monetary award".
And lawsuits such as these are now banned from getting more than a certain amount, right? In other words they can sue but the award is capped.
Got a notice last month.
I am a plaintiff in a case involving supposed overcharges by American Express. I get $3.00. The lawyers got 8 million.
Screw-um.
I LOVE this!
I'm not sure I understand how this will curb class-action suits. Are the federal courts automatically tougher on plaintiffs?
That's beautiful! Tort reform, baby!
President Bush - First 48 Months
Presidency of George W. Bush -- the first 48 months
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President Bush signing a federal ban on Partial Birth Abortion
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U.S. Forces In Baghdad
The good news is that this cuts down on judge shopping. The gun grabbers were suing in Brooklyn for a reason.
The bad guys still get hurt, the victims still get compensated, the budget goes into the black, and the lawyers get screwed.
TS
And the crack on the liberal world grows yet larger! Hoorah!
The Dems are still howling about the "Serious Election Irregularities" in 2004. Seems like this bill would have casued more howling from the crowd that deigns personal responsibility.
I haven't heard them moan a peep about this - which makes me think it won't amount to much..
It's really too bad that they quoted an opponent (from what might be called a 'special-interest group')as to why this is bad -- but the administration doesn't bother to tell us why it is good. (Either that, or the 'reporter' didn't bother to tell us so.) This is a VERY important development.
Some of the class-action lawyers become so rich that they buy mansions in gated communities where you and I are not allowed. At the same time, some companies which they sued have had to lay off workers and cut back on production, which means less people working and paying taxes. It hurts us all.
LOL, I just had a lawyer in my office whining about this! He was going on and on about how the drug companies won't care who they hurt and kill with poorly researched drugs now because they don't have to worry about big lawsuits. They can blame their own greed for this bill.
This really is a good piece of legislation. It finally brings the law more into line with the primary purpose of the provision for federal "diversity" jurisdiction (i.e., federal court jurisdiction of suits between citizens of different states) provided by the Constitution.
One of the real reasons the plaintiffs' lawyers are p.o.'d is that the legislation also limits their fees in so-called "coupon" settlements to a percentage of the coupons actually redeemed.
In other words, if a lawyer brings a class action against Acme Puppy Chow for allegedly false claims as to the benefits of the product and then negotiates a settlement whereby ten million customers get a coupon for $5 off their next Puppy Chow purchase, the lawyer's fee is now calculated based on the coupons actually redeemed, rather than those just sent out. Often only a small percentage, say 10%, of members of the plaintiff class actually redeem the coupons. In the Puppy Chow case, this means only $5 million is ever paid to the class. However, under the old rule, the attorney's fees would often be calculated on the $50 million "value" of the total number of issued coupons. Assuming a fee of 25%, the attorney under the old practice would have gotten $12.5 million (25% of $50 million -- the total value of the coupons issued). Under the new law, the lawyer's fee is now calculated based on what is actually paid out (or projected to be paid out)--in our scenario, he gets 25% of $5 million, or $1.25 million.
Not chump change, but not enough to support a private jet (which is the defining toy for these guys).
The statement of purpose of the law is set forth below in case anyone is interested.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS- Congress finds the following:
(1) Class action lawsuits are an important and valuable part of the legal system when they permit the fair and efficient resolution of legitimate claims of numerous parties by allowing the claims to be aggregated into a single action against a defendant that has allegedly caused harm.
(2) Over the past decade, there have been abuses of the class action device that have--
(A) harmed class members with legitimate claims and defendants that have acted responsibly;
(B) adversely affected interstate commerce; and
(C) undermined public respect for our judicial system.
(3) Class members often receive little or no benefit from class actions, and are sometimes harmed, such as where--
(A) counsel are awarded large fees, while leaving class members with coupons or other awards of little or no value;
(B) unjustified awards are made to certain plaintiffs at the expense of other class members; and
(C) confusing notices are published that prevent class members from being able to fully understand and effectively exercise their rights.
(4) Abuses in class actions undermine the national judicial system, the free flow of interstate commerce, and the concept of diversity jurisdiction as intended by the framers of the United States Constitution, in that State and local courts are--
(A) keeping cases of national importance out of Federal court;
(B) sometimes acting in ways that demonstrate bias against out-of-State defendants; and
(C) making judgments that impose their view of the law on other States and bind the rights of the residents of those States.
(b) PURPOSES- The purposes of this Act are to--
(1) assure fair and prompt recoveries for class members with legitimate claims;
(2) restore the intent of the framers of the United States Constitution by providing for Federal court consideration of interstate cases of national importance under diversity jurisdiction; and
(3) benefit society by encouraging innovation and lowering consumer prices.
bump
I was there in the East Wing of the White House for the signing ceremony yesterday. Very cool. I started working on this issue almost 13 years ago for W's father's '92 campaign, so it is good to finally have some closure on it!
I don't agree with the medical caps, but I like this bill.
Class action suits only make attorneys rich. It's about time they stopped this nonsense.
Each case should be tired on it's own merits.