Darrell Issa: “I rise in support of H.R. 2341, ``The Class Action Fairness Act of 2002.'' I thank Congressman Bob Goodlatte, author of…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 2341, ``The Class Action Fairness Act of 2002.'' I thank Congressman Bob Goodlatte, author of this bill, House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner and the Judiciary Committee staff for their leadership on this bill. Class action lawsuits serve a very important role, but the legal system is being compromised because attorneys have been the benefactors of class action lawsuit settlements, not the plaintiffs. These lawsuits should be weighed on their own merits. The decision to file in a certain state or region should not be based on the possibility of the courts having favorable attitudes toward certifying class action suits against out-of-state corporations. Many times, attorneys find a topic or angle for a class action lawsuit and then begin to seek plaintiffs, sometimes in a different region than where the problem occurred. When they register a large number of plaintiffs, the lawyers file a class action suit in a favorable state forum and modify the case so that it will be exempt from federal jurisdiction. These attorneys then are not beholden to any one individual, allowing them to broker a settlement that provides minimal benefits to the class members, but may reward the attorneys handsomely. Additionally, lawyers in other states can bring forward an identical ``copy cat'' lawsuit, forcing companies to defend the same case in another court, with potentially different results.”