Press Release

Washington, DC—The following is a statement from American Association for Justice CEO Linda Lipsen on today’s introduction of the “Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017” [H.R. 985] in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would eviscerate nearly every type of class action brought in the United States and prevent the enforcement of fundamental civil rights, and consumer, employee, and investor protection laws.

“H.R. 985 rolls back a century of legal progress that guarantees the rights of individual Americans and pushes our country back into the dark ages when corporations were free to bet against the U.S. economy, sell dangerous products, and discriminate against their workers in the process. We are astonished that backers of H.R. 985 would rig the system against their constituents to immunize powerful corporate wrongdoers from being held publicly accountable in U.S. courts.”

“H.R. 985 will eviscerate class actions, which are often the only avenue for Americans to hold corporations accountable if they are victims of widespread illegal behavior. If this bill becomes law, it will deny justice to Americans who suffer from financial fraud and deceptive scams, massive civil and human rights violations, or unsafe products and toxic workplaces that cause horrific injuries and deaths.”