Protecting Innocent Citizens from a Guilty System

Class Action Fairness Act gives rewards back to the people

WASHINGTON , D.C. – Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (R-Upper Arlington) released the following for editorial review:

“’One bad apple spoils the whole bunch.’ It’s a saying we have heard since childhood and it is remarkable how often that truth is applied in the various aspects of our daily life. Our legal system has lost a lot of credibility with the public in recent years because of the actions of a few ‘bad apples.’ And nowhere is this more evident than in the explosion of class action lawsuits.

Over the past ten years, class action filings in state courts have risen by more than 1300 percent. And in “magnet courts,” jurisdictions where the most speculative class action cases are certified, filings since 1998 are up over 5000 percent!

Last week, Congress passed the Class Action Fairness Act, a bipartisan plan to curb lawsuit abuse by putting an end to the forum shopping currently done by some plaintiffs’ lawyers to stay out of federal court.

The class action system was originally designed to save time, taxpayer money and allow our courts to efficiently handle a number of similar disputes. But a loophole allowed multi-million dollar class action cases involving parties from many states to be excluded from federal courts. This crack allowed cases to be taken to courts where the attorneys could easily walk away with thousands, if not millions, of dollars in their own pockets while the plaintiffs got a check in the mail where the award was hardly worth the paper it was printed on.

For example, there’s the settlement of a lawsuit over late fees charged by Blockbuster Video. Customers were given a $1 off coupon for their next rental. The attorneys walked away with $9.25 million.

How about Cheerios? As part of a settlement of a class action lawsuit against the manufacturer of the cereal, the company put coupons for a free box of cereal in the newspapers, but it was the plaintiffs' lawyers who got the prize at the bottom of the box. They milked the company for $2 million in fees.

And then there’s the case against Chase Manhattan Bank, where the lawyers got $4 million in attorney fees. The plaintiffs received a check for 33 cents. But there was a catch, because if you wanted to accept the 33 cents, you had to use a 34-cent postage stamp to send in your acceptance notice. How’s that for a bargain?

The public is catching on to these types of legal scams. A recent survey found only nine percent of the public believed that plaintiffs benefit the most from class-action lawsuits. 47 percent believed the lawyers for the plaintiffs benefited the most.

As a former prosecutor and judge, I have been disappointed by the explosion of interstate class actions being filed in state courts, particularly in certain jurisdictions where the courts accept outrageous cases and judges hand out high-dollar awards, such as Madison County, Illinois. I know many of my former colleagues feel the same way. But those days are now numbered. The Class Action Fairness Act allows larger interstate class action cases to be heard in federal courts. The bill also contains several provisions specifically designed to ensure that class members are the primary beneficiaries of the class actions process.

Ohio consumers and business owners can be sure that this bill ensures a fair day in court. This plan strengthens the credibility and reliability of our courts, protects the freedoms we hold dear and ensures lawyers are defending the people they represent fairly.”