Class Action Bill A Victim Of Procedural Tactics

By Steven Brostoff, Washington Editor

NU Online News Service, July 9, 10:44 a.m. EDT, Washington?Class action legislation, the once-promising civil justice reform bill that seemed to have filibuster-proof support in the Senate, appears dead in the 108th Congress.[@@]

The legislation, S. 2062, fell victim to procedural maneuvering that allowed opponents to bottle it up despite the fact that 61 senators were on the record as supporting it.

The procedural tactic involved attaching controversial non-germane amendments to S. 2062. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., last night tried to end the procedural delays by scheduling a vote.

However, S. 2062 garnered only 44 votes, far short of the 60 needed to prevent the opponents from pursuing their procedural delays.

Gary Karr, a representative of the Washington-based American Insurance Association, said AIA is "tremendously disappointed" by the outcome.

S. 2062 had strong bipartisan support, Mr. Karr related. Unfortunately, he said, it fell victim to partisan politics and procedural gimmicks.

S. 2062 would have established, in principle, federal court jurisdiction over major class action lawsuits. However, the legislation also contained a complicated formula that would either preserve state court jurisdiction or give federal court judges discretion to send cases to state courts, based on the residency of the plaintiffs' class and the main defendants.

An agreement that appeared to assure 61 votes in favor of S. 2062 was reached last year. However, when the bill went to the floor of the Senate early this year, opponents began their procedural tactic of attaching non-germane amendments.

Sen. Frist tried several times to schedule a final vote on S. 2062 but was unable to overcome the procedural roadblocks. While it is still possible he will try to bring up the legislation again before adjournment, most analysts believe the prospects are poor.

Special Reports /

Class Action Bill A Victim Of Procedural Tactics

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