Melvin Watt: “I rise in opposition to S. 5, the Class Action Fairness Act. Despite its name, this bill is anything but fair to the…”

“I rise in opposition to S. 5, the Class Action Fairness Act. Despite its name, this bill is anything but fair to the class action device that has provided redress to large numbers of American citizens who have been harmed by the same defendant or a group of defendants. Class action procedures have made it possible for injured Americans to aggregate small claims that might not otherwise warrant the expense of individual litigation. This bill before us will effectively undermine the utility, practicality, and choice the class action mechanism has offered to injured persons with legitimate claims against powerful entities. There appear to be improvements in this bill from the bill we considered last Congress; yet there could and should be more improvements. But the trend thus far this session is to dispense with regular order, deny committee consideration, and to leave Members with 1 to 2 minutes to hurriedly voice our concerns. I can guarantee my colleagues, having practiced law for over 20 years, that the core provisions of this bill will invite prolonged satellite litigation into ill-defined or undefined terms in this bill, clogging the Federal courts and denying prompt justice to worthy claimants.”