Chris Dodd: “These moderate changes to the Federal diversity statute were included in the original legislation that came before the…”

“These moderate changes to the Federal diversity statute were included in the original legislation that came before the Senate last October. Under the compromise, however, we further refine these provisions to address two important concerns that were not fully taken into account in the earlier bill. I want to especially commend Senator Feinstein of California for her leadership in helping to clarify these issues, both during the Senate Judiciary Committee's consideration of the earlier measure and in the discussions that led to this compromise. First, the compromise responds to concerns that the original bill did not adequately address the handful of small, rural State courts that have increasingly become a magnet for more and more nationwide class actions. Such 'magnet jurisdictions' have tended to have lax class certification requirements, and have been less than rigorous in reviewing proposed settlements. In fact, one of the most flagrant abuses of the current class action system occurs when lawyers 'forum shop' that is, invent an injured class and then file a national class action in a 'magnet jurisdiction' where the judges are more likely to lend a sympathetic ear.”