Senate approves class action legislation.(Capitol Beat)

Claims, March, 2005

In mid-February, the United States Senate passed the Class Action Fairness Act, S 5, by a vote of 72 to 26. The measure calls for moving many class-action lawsuits from state courts to federal courts when the amount in dispute exceeds $5 million and when the defendant and the plaintiff live in different states.

Insurance trade groups called the bill's passage long overdue. "This legislation represents a critical step toward reforming our nation's legal system and is a major achievement for RIMS' legislative agenda," said Janice Ochenkowski, vice president, external affairs, for the Risk and Insurance Management Society.

"We are very pleased that the senate has come together on a class-action bill that will help curb frivolous lawsuits and provide...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Premium Content Partnership | HighBeam Research provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works.