H.R. 985: Fairness in Class Action Litigation and Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act of 2017

115th Congress

To amend the procedures used in Federal court class actions and multidistrict litigation proceedings to assure fairer, more efficient outcomes for claimants and defendants, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep. Bob Goodlatte — R — VA

H.R. 985 prohibits a federal court from certifying any proposed class seeking monetary relief for personal injury or economic loss unless the party seeking the class action shows that each proposed class member suffered the same type and scope of injury as the named class representative or representatives. The bill requires a court, in issuing a class certification order for any class subject to the bill’s requirements, to also certify that those requirements have been met based on a rigorous analysis of the evidence presented, and requires that class action lawyers should only get paid after the victims get paid and orders any third-party funding agreement to be disclosed to the district court. H.R. 985 also includes the text of H.R. 906, the Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act of 2017, which amends Section 524(g) of the Bankruptcy Code to require asbestos trusts to file quarterly reports with the bankruptcy court, not later than 60 days after the end of every quarter, detailing claimants’ names, claimants’ exposure history, and the basis for any payments made to claimants.

View the full vote history of this bill on GovTrack.us.