Pete Sessions: “Senator Feinstein has offered an amendment to S. 5, the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, to address the opponents'…”

“Senator Feinstein has offered an amendment to S. 5, the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, to address the opponents' claim that Federal courts routinely deny certification of multistate or nationwide classes that involve different State laws. Under this amendment, that would change the underlying bill we are considering here. Federal courts would be required to certify class actions, even if the claims were brought under State law. The amendment further provides that courts faced with nationwide classes involving different State laws should either create subclasses to account for variations in State law or, if such subclasses are impractical, to attempt to apply the proper State law to the class members claims only to the extent doing so is practical. The proposal would toss State laws and procedural fairness out of the window for the sake of allowing a nationwide class action. It would reverse nearly 70 years of established Supreme Court case law that requires Federal courts to apply the proper State law when they hear claims between citizens of different States. It would reverse numerous decisions about State supreme courts rejecting the application of one State's law to class action claims that arise in 50 States, and it would seriously undermine the ability of plaintiffs and defendants alike to have a fair trial. Most importantly, it would have the perverse effect of perpetuating the very magnet court abuses that the legislation seeks to end.”