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Today, Congressman David Scott helped pass legislation that curbs class action lawsuits that yield little to nothing for injured plaintiffs. The Class Action Fairness Act will also shift most large class-action suits from state courts, where juries tend to award multimillion-dollar verdicts, to the federal courts. Congressman Scott was an original co-sponsor of the Class Action Fairness Act, S. 5, which the House passed by a 279-149 vote following approval by the Senate.

“I have and will always support holding companies accountable when they cause harm to the consumers who trust them. However, we must make sure that awards are not so outrageous as to bring additional hardship on consumers,” said Scott.

Class actions lawsuits have typically been assigned to federal court only in the rare instances in which the parties are from different states. Once the new legislation becomes law, federal courts will assume jurisdiction over claims exceeding $5 million and when any defendant and any plaintiff are from different states. In addition, the Class Action Fairness Act will limit lawyer’s fees in settlements where plaintiffs are awarded coupons or discounts on products instead of cash payments.

“Too often in the past, only the lawyers in the case are the real winners, reaping millions of dollars in attorney fees while the injured consumers walk away with little to nothing from the settlement. That must change.”

The Class Action Fairness Act now heads to President Bush to be signed into law.