Washington, D.C.—Congressman Steve King today spoke out and voted in favor of legislation that will crack down on abuses of the class action lawsuit system and direct deserved compensation to consumers. H.R. 1115, the “Class Action Fairness Act”, will shift some class action suits from state courts to the proper venue for national cases – the federal court system. In addition, this legislation establishes a “Consumer Class Action Bill of Rights” to address numerous recent class action settlements that produced pennies for victims while generating millions in fees for lawyers.

“This bill protects consumers,” said King. “The original intended purpose of class action lawsuits was to aid large groups of plaintiffs suffering from the same problem. Today, far too often it seems as though their biggest problem is the money-hungry trial lawyers who represent them.”

A class action against Blockbuster Video racked up more than $9 million in legal fees, but yielded plaintiffs mere “$1-OFF” coupons for future rentals. A suit against Bank of Boston yielded just $8.64 for every plaintiff, but cost $90 each in legal bills.

“The damage to consumers by class action abuse goes well past the immediate parties involved—these lawsuits drive up the prices of consumer goods and drive down the prices of stocks on Wall Street, diminishing the working American’s pension,” King concluded.

H.R. 1115 would establish a “Consumer Class Action Bill of Rights,” which would:

1. require enhanced judicial scrutiny of coupon settlements;
2. protect against settlements that would result in a net monetary loss to plaintiffs;
3. prohibit the unjustified payment of bounties to class representatives; and
4. protect out-of-state class members against settlements that favor certain class members over others based upon where they reside.

H.R. 1115 now heads to the Senate for consideration. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed similar class action legislation by a 12 to 7 bipartisan vote on April 11, 2003.