,,ib ,union ,calendar ,no4 #aa #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ihe ,report ,no4 #aae-be ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,february #i1 #bjag ,mr4 ,goodlatte introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,march #g1 #bjag;,additional sponsors3 ,mr4 ,sessions and ,mr4 ,grothman ,march #g1 #bjag ,committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union and ordered to be printed ,a ,,bill ,to amend the procedures used in ,federal court class actions and multidistrict litigation proceedings to assure fairer1 more efficient outcomes for claimants and defendants1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title2 reference2 table of contents 7a7 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,fairness in ,class ,action ,litigation ,act of #bjag4 7b7 ,reference ,whenever1 in this ,act1 reference is made to an amendment to1 or repeal of1 a section or other provision1 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or other provision of title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code4 7c7 ,table of contents ,the table of contents of this ,act is as follows3 ,sec4 #a4 ,short title2 reference2 table of contents4 ,sec4 #b4 ,purposes4 ,sec4 #c4 ,class action procedures4 ,sec4 #d4 ,misjoinder of plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death actions4 ,sec4 #e4 ,multidistrict litigation proceedings procedures4 ,sec4 #f4 ,rulemaking authority of ,supreme ,court and ,judicial ,conference4 ,sec4 #g4 ,effective date4 #b4 ,purposes ,the purposes of this ,act are to-- 7#a7 assure fair and prompt recoveries for class members and multidistrict litigation plaintiffs with legitimate claims2 7#b7 diminish abuses in class action and mass tort litigation that are undermining the integrity of the ,u4,s4 legal system2 and 7#c7 restore the intent of the framers of the ,united ,states ,constitution by ensuring ,federal court consideration of interstate controversies of national importance consistent with diversity jurisdiction principles4 #c4 ,class action procedures 7a7 ,in general ,chapter #aad is amended by inserting after section #agae the following3 #agaf4 ,class action injury allegations 7a7 ,in general ,a ,federal court shall not issue an order granting certification of a class action seeking monetary relief for personal injury or economic loss unless the party seeking to maintain such a class action affirmatively demonstrates that each proposed class member suffered the same type and scope of injury as the named class representative or representatives4 7b7 ,certification order ,an order issued under ,rule #bc7;c77#a7 of the ,federal ,rules of ,civil ,procedure that certifies a class seeking monetary relief for personal injury or economic loss shall include a determination1 based on a rigorous analysis of the evidence presented1 that the requirement in subsection 7a7 of this section is satisfied4 #agag4 ,conflicts of interest 7a7 ,required disclosures ,in a class action complaint1 class counsel shall state whether any proposed class representative or named plaintiff in the complaint is a relative of1 is a present or former employee of1 is a present or former client of 7other than with respect to the class action71 or has any contractual relationship with 7other than with respect to the class action7 class counsel4 ,in addition1 the complaint shall describe the circumstances under which each class representative or named plaintiff agreed to be included in the complaint and shall identify any other class action in which any proposed class representative or named plaintiff has a similar role4 7b7 ,prohibition of conflicts ,a ,federal court shall not issue an order granting certification of any class action in which any proposed class representative or named plaintiff is a relative of1 is a present or former employee of1 is a present or former client of 7other than with respect to the class action71 or has any contractual relationship with 7other than with respect to the class action7 class counsel4 7c7 ,definition ,for purposes of this section1 relative shall be defined by reference to section #caaj7;a77#c7 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4 #agah4 ,class member benefits 7a7 ,distribution of benefits to class members ,a ,federal court shall not issue an order granting certification of a class action seeking monetary relief unless the class is defined with reference to objective criteria and the party seeking to maintain such a class action affirmatively demonstrates that there is a reliable and administratively feasible mechanism 7a7 for the court to determine whether putative class members fall within the class definition and 7b7 for distributing directly to a substantial majority of class members any monetary relief secured for the class4 7b7 ,attorneys' fees in class actions 7#a7 ,fee distribution timing ,in a class action seeking monetary relief1 no attorneys' fees may be determined or paid pursuant to ,rule #bc7;h7 of the ,federal ,rules of ,civil ,procedure or otherwise until the distribution of any monetary recovery to class members has been completed4 7#b7 ,fee determinations based on monetary awards ,unless otherwise specified by ,federal statute1 if a judgment or proposed settlement in a class action provides for a monetary recovery1 the portion of any attorneys' fee award to class counsel that is attributed to the monetary recovery shall be limited to a reasonable percentage of any payments directly distributed to and received by class members4 ,in no event shall the attorneys' fee award exceed the total amount of money directly distributed to and received by all class members4 7#c7 ,fee determinations based on equitable relief ,unless otherwise specified by ,federal statute1 if a judgment or proposed settlement in a class action provides for equitable relief1 the portion of any attorneys' fee award to class counsel that is attributed to the equitable relief shall be limited to a reasonable percentage of the value of the equitable relief1 including any injunctive relief4 #agai4 ,money distribution data 7a7 ,settlement accountings ,in any settlement of a class action that provides for monetary benefits1 the court shall order class counsel to submit to the ,director of the ,federal ,judicial ,center and the ,director of the ,administrative ,office of the ,united ,states ,courts an accounting of the disbursement of all funds paid by the defendant pursuant to the settlement agreement4 ,the accounting shall state the total amount paid directly to all class members1 the actual or estimated total number of class members1 the number of class members who received payments1 the average amount 7both mean and median7 paid directly to all class members1 the largest amount paid to any class member1 the smallest amount paid to any class member and1 separately1 each amount paid to any other person 7including class counsel7 and the purpose of the payment4 ,in stating the amounts paid to class members1 no individual class member shall be identified4 ,no attorneys' fees may be paid to class counsel pursuant to ,rule #bc7;h7 of the ,federal ,rules of ,civil ,procedure until the accounting has been submitted4 7b7 ,annual settlement distribution reports ,commencing not later than #ab months after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,judicial ,conference of the ,united ,states1 with the assistance of the ,director of the ,federal ,judicial ,center and the ,director of the ,administrative ,office of the ,united ,states ,courts1 shall annually prepare and transmit to the ,committees on the ,judiciary of the ,senate and the ,house of ,representatives for public dissemination a report summarizing how funds paid by defendants in class actions have been distributed1 based on the settlement accountings submitted pursuant to subsection 7a74 #agbj4 ,issues classes 7a7 ,in general ,a ,federal court shall not issue an order granting certification of a class action with respect to particular issues pursuant to ,rule #bc7;c77#d7 of the ,federal ,rules of ,civil ,procedure unless the entirety of the cause of action from which the particular issues arise satisfies all the class certification prerequisites of ,rule #bc7;a7 and ,rule #bc7;b77#a71 ,rule #bc7;b77#b71 or ,rule #bc7;b77#c74 7b7 ,certification order ,an order issued under ,rule #bc7;c77#d7 of the ,federal ,rules of ,civil ,procedure that certifies a class with respect to particular issues shall include a determination1 based on a rigorous analysis of the evidence presented1 that the requirement in subsection 7a7 of this section is satisfied4 #agba4 ,stay of discovery ,in any class action1 all discovery and other proceedings shall be stayed during the pendency of any motion to transfer1 motion to dismiss1 motion to strike class allegations1 or other motion to dispose of the class allegations1 unless the court finds upon the motion of any party that particularized discovery is necessary to preserve evidence or to prevent undue prejudice to that party4 #agbb4 ,third-party litigation funding disclosure ,in any class action1 class counsel shall promptly disclose in writing to the court and all other parties the identity of any person or entity1 other than a class member or class counsel of record1 who has a contingent right to receive compensation from any settlement1 judgment1 or other relief obtained in the action4 #agbc4 ,appeals ,a court of appeals shall permit an appeal from an order granting or denying class-action certification under ,rule #bc of the ,federal ,rules of ,civil ,procedure4 4 #d4 ,misjoinder of plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death actions ,section #addg is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating subsection 7d7 as subsection 7e72 7#b7 by redesignating subsection 7e7 as subsection 7f72 and 7#c7 by inserting after subsection 7c7 the following3 7d7 ,misjoinder of plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death actions 7#a7 ,this subsection shall apply to any civil action in which-- 7,a7 two or more plaintiffs assert personal injury or wrongful death claims2 7,b7 the action is removed on the basis of the jurisdiction conferred by section #accb7;a72 and 7,c7 a motion to remand is made on the ground that one or more defendants are citizens of the same ,state as one or more plaintiffs4 7#b7 ,in deciding the remand motion in any such case1 the court shall apply the jurisdictional requirements of section #accb7;a7 to the claims of each plaintiff individually1 as though that plaintiff were the sole plaintiff in the action4 7#c7 ,the court shall sever the claims that do not satisfy the jurisdictional requirements of section #accb7;a7 and shall remand those claims to the ,state court from which the action was removed4 ,the court shall retain jurisdiction over the claims that satisfy the jurisdictional requirements of section #accb7;a74 4 #e4 ,multidistrict litigation proceedings procedures 7a7 ,in general ,chapter #hg is amended by adding to section #adjg the following3 7i7 ,allegations verification ,in any coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings conducted pursuant to subsection 7b71 counsel for a plaintiff asserting a claim seeking redress for personal injury whose civil action is assigned to or directly filed in the proceedings shall make a submission sufficient to demonstrate that there is evidentiary support 7including but not limited to medical records7 for the factual contentions in plaintiff's complaint regarding the alleged injury1 the exposure to the risk that allegedly caused the injury1 and the alleged cause of the injury4 ,the submission must be made within the first #de days after the civil action is transferred to or directly filed in the proceedings4 ,that deadline shall not be extended4 ,within #cj days after the submission deadline1 the judge or judges to whom the action is assigned shall enter an order determining whether the submission is sufficient and shall dismiss the action without prejudice if the submission is found to be insufficient4 ,if a plaintiff in an action dismissed without prejudice fails to tender a sufficient submission within the following #cj days1 the action shall be dismissed with prejudice4 7j7 ,trial prohibition ,in any coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings conducted pursuant to subsection 7b71 the judge or judges to whom actions are assigned by the ,judicial ,panel on ,multidistrict ,litigation may not conduct any trial in any civil action transferred to or directly filed in the proceedings unless all parties to the civil action consent to trial of the specific case sought to be tried4 7k7 ,review of orders 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,court of ,appeals having jurisdiction over the transferee district shall permit an appeal to be taken from any order issued in the conduct of coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings conducted pursuant to subsection 7b71 provided that an immediate appeal from the order may materially advance the ultimate termination of one or more civil actions in the proceedings4 7#b7 ,remand orders ,notwithstanding section #addg7;e71 a court of appeals may accept an appeal from an order issued in any coordinated or consolidated proceedings conducted pursuant to subsection 7b7 granting or denying a motion to remand a civil action to the ,state court from which it was removed if application is made to the court of appeals within #ad days after the order is entered4 7l7 ,ensuring proper recovery for plaintiffs ,the claimants in any civil action asserting a claim for personal injury transferred to or directly filed in coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings conducted pursuant to subsection 7b7 shall receive not less than #hj percent of any monetary recovery obtained in that action by settlement1 judgment or otherwise4 ,the judge or judges to whom the coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings have been assigned shall have jurisdiction over any disputes regarding compliance with this requirement4 4 #f4 ,rulemaking authority of ,supreme ,court and ,judicial ,conference ,nothing in this ,act shall restrict in any way the authority of the ,judicial ,conference and the ,supreme ,court to propose and prescribe general rules of practice and procedure under chapter #aca of title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code4 #g4 ,effective date ,the amendments made by the ,act shall apply to any civil action pending on the date of enactment of this ,act or commenced thereafter4 ,march #g1 #bjag ,committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union and ordered to be printed