Med Mal News

By a vote of 220 to 201, the House of Representatives recently passed H.R. 985, known as The Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017. Its proposed changes to the class action litigation system would, among other things, make it harder for plaintiffs to get a class certified by requiring that “in a class action seeking monetary relief for personal injury or economic loss, each proposed class member [has] suffered the same type and scope of injury as the named class representatives.” Linda Lipsen, CEO of the American Association for Justice (AAJ), called the bill offensive and charged that, by this action, “the House of Representatives made it clear that it would rather shield powerful corporations from being held accountable for scamming, injuring, and discriminating against Americans, than protect our right to pursue justice.” Proponents of the bill, like Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX), who spoke in favor of the measure, claim that it doesn't prevent class claims from being made, but simply curtails the filing of frivolous class lawsuits. Not all are convinced: F. Paul Bland, executive director of Public Justice, told reporters, “It's pretty clear the bill would wipe away the vast majority of class actions.”