Class Action Fairness Act of 2003
Latest action · Oct 22, 2003 Cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 59 - 39. Record Vote Number: 403.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedOct 16, 2003
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Class Action Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal judicial code to prohibit a Federal district court from approving a proposed class action settlement under which: (1) members would receive non-cash benefits or would be required to expend funds in order to obtain proposed benefits, unless the court finds, after a hearing, that the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate; (2) any member is obligated to pay sums to class counsel that would result in a net loss to the member, unless the court finds that non-monetary benefits to the member outweigh the monetary loss; (3) greater sums would be paid to some class members than to others solely on the basis of their closer geographic proximity to the court; or (4) a greater share would be paid to a class representative than to other class members. Sets forth requirements for: (1) notices of class actions to class members, including a requirement that such notice include a summary written in plain, easily understood language of class member legal consequences, rights, and benefits, obligations of defendants, and attorney fees; and (2) notices of proposed settlements to be served upon appropriate State and Federal regulatory officials.
Grants Federal district courts original jurisdiction of any civil action in which the matter in controversy exceeds $5 million, exclusive of interest and costs, and in which any member of a class of plaintiffs is: (1) a citizen of a State different from any defendant; (2) a foreign state or a citizen or subject of a foreign state and any defendant is a citizen of a State; or (3) a citizen of a State and any defendant is a foreign state or a citizen or subject of a foreign state.
Sets forth considerations based upon which a district court may decline to exercise jurisdiction over a class action in which greater than one-third but less than two-thirds of the members of all proposed plaintiff classes in the aggregate and the primary defendants are citizens of the State in which the action was originally filed, including consideration of whether: (1) the claims asserted involve matters of national or interstate interest; and (2) the class action has been pleaded in a manner that seeks to avoid Federal jurisdiction.
Provides that district courts shall not be granted jurisdiction over any class action: (1) in which two-thirds or more of the members of all proposed plaintiff classes and the primary defendants are citizens of the State in which the action was originally filed; (2) in which the primary defendants are States; (3) in which the number of members of all proposed plaintiff classes is less than 100; or (4) involving certain securities claims or claims involving the internal governance of a corporation that arise under the laws of the State of incorporation.
Sets forth provisions governing: (1) the removal of interstate class actions to U.S. district court; and (2) review by appeal of orders remanding class actions to State courts.
Directs the Judicial Conference of the United States to report on class action settlements, including recommendations for best court practices to ensure that settlements are fair to class members.
Recorded votes 1
Newest first. Open one to see how every member voted.
| Roll call | Question | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate 403 | On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed S. 1751 | Cloture on the Motion to Proceed Rejected59–39 | Oct 22, 2003 |
Cosponsors 13
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Oct 16, 2003 to Oct 28, 2003; 7 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-PA | Arlen Specter | Original | Oct 16, 2003 |
| D-WI | Herb Kohl | Original | Oct 16, 2003 |
| R-RI | Lincoln Chafee | Original | Oct 16, 2003 |
| R-UT | Orrin G. Hatch | Original | Oct 16, 2003 |
| R-IN | Richard G. Lugar | Original | Oct 16, 2003 |
| D-DE | Thomas R. Carper | Original | Oct 16, 2003 |
| D-GA | Zell Miller | Original | Oct 16, 2003 |
| R-TX | John Cornyn | Oct 20, 2003 | |
| R-OH | George V. Voinovich | Oct 21, 2003 | |
| R-NH | John E. Sununu | Oct 21, 2003 | |
| R-VA | George Allen | Oct 22, 2003 | |
| R-TN | Lamar Alexander | Oct 22, 2003 | |
| R-NE | Chuck Hagel | Oct 28, 2003 |
Actions 9
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 22, 2003Motion to proceed to measure considered in Senate.
- Oct 22, 2003Cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 59 - 39. Record Vote Number: 403.
- Oct 21, 2003Motion to proceed to measure considered in Senate.
- Oct 20, 2003Motion to proceed to measure considered in Senate.
- Oct 20, 2003Cloture motion presented in Senate.
- Oct 17, 2003Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
- Oct 17, 2003Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 315.
- Oct 17, 2003Motion to proceed to measure considered in Senate.
- Oct 16, 2003Introduced in Senate
In the Congressional Record 8
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S4003–S4005 | Thomas R. Carper D-DE, William H. Frist R-TN | Apr 8, 2004 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S16217Text printed S16217–S16220Amendments S16217Summaries S16220Changes | Christopher J. Dodd D-CT (text) | Dec 15, 2003 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S16102Summaries S16102Changes | Christopher J. Dodd D-CT | Dec 9, 2003 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S12987, S12994, S12996, S12998–S13011, S13061Cloture motions S13007Recorded votes S13008cloture motion on motion to proceed | Byron L. Dorgan D-ND, Christopher J. Dodd D-CT, Chuck Grassley R-IA (cloture motion), Edward M. Kennedy D-MA, Elizabeth Dole R-NC (cloture motion), George Allen R-VA (cloture motion), Herb Kohl D-WI, John B. Breaux D-LA, John Cornyn R-TX, John E. Sununu R-NH (cloture motion), John Ensign R-NV (cloture motion), John Warner R-VA (cloture motion), Jon Kyl R-AZ (cloture motion), Jon S. Corzine D-NJ, Kay Bailey Hutchison R-TX (cloture motion), Lindsey Graham R-SC (cloture motion), Maria Cantwell D-WA, Mary L. Landrieu D-LA, Mitch McConnell R-KY, Orrin G. Hatch R-UT (cloture motion), Pat Roberts R-KS (cloture motion), Patrick J. Leahy D-VT, Rick Santorum R-PA (cloture motion), Russell D. Feingold D-WI, Sam Brownback R-KS, Saxby Chambliss R-GA (cloture motion), Susan M. Collins R-ME (cloture motion), Thad Cochran R-MS (cloture motion), Thomas A. Daschle D-SD, Thomas R. Carper D-DE, Wayne Allard R-CO (cloture motion), William H. Frist R-TN (cloture motion) | Oct 22, 2003 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S12911, S12950–S12955, S12957–S12963 | Chuck Grassley R-IA, George V. Voinovich R-OH, Jeff Sessions R-AL, Lindsey Graham R-SC, Orrin G. Hatch R-UT, Richard J. Durbin D-IL, Thomas R. Carper D-DE | Oct 21, 2003 |
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 274 | Class Action Fairness Act of 2003 | Related bill | Jul 31, 2003 |
| HR 1115 | Class Action Fairness Act of 2003 | Related bill | Jun 12, 2003 |
| S 2062 | Class Action Fairness Act of 2004 | Related bill | Jul 8, 2004 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend the procedures that apply to consideration of interstate class actions to assure fairer outcomes for class members and defendants, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Class Action Fairness Act of 2003
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Law.
- Bank holding companies
- Class actions (Civil procedure)
- Commerce
- Congress
- Congressional reporting requirements
- Damages
- District courts
- Finance and Financial Sector
- Foreign banks and banking
- Foreign Trade and International Finance
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government paperwork
- Judicial opinions
- Jurisdiction
- Law
- Legal fees
- Radio broadcasting
- Science, Technology, Communications
- State courts
- Subsidiary corporations
- Television advertising
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Oct 17, 2003Placed on Calendar Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.