Class action bill passes Senate; Expected approval in House would give tort reformers rare victory.(News)

Business Insurance, February, 2005 by Hofmann, Mark A.

Byline: MARK A. HOFMANN WASHINGTON-The U.S. Senate's 72-26 vote in favor of the Class Action Fairness Act last week could ease the way for additional federal tort reforms, say tort reform advocates. The bipartisan bill, which, among other things, would permit the removal of certain class actions involving defendants and plaintiffs from different states to federal court from state court, is expected to face little difficulty in the House of Representatives, which had approved earlier versions of the bill.

Senate supporters of the bill were able to block a handful of amendments that would have provided carve-outs for particular types of class actions, including wage and hour disputes, or that would have changed the procedural provisions of the underlying...

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