[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4375 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4375

           To provide provisions relating to Castano actions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 1998

  Mr. Meehan introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and 
Means, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
           To provide provisions relating to Castano actions.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. TEXT OF H.R. 3868.

    For purposes of this Act, the text of H.R. 3868 shall be considered 
to be a part of this Act.

SEC. 2. CASTANO ACTIONS.

    The text of H.R. 3868 included in this Act under section 1 is 
amended by adding at the end of title VIII the following:

                     ``Subtitle C--Castano Actions

``SEC. 821. CASTANO ACTIONS.

    ``(a) In General.--The rights and benefits afforded in titles III 
and V of this Act are provided in settlement of, and shall constitute 
the exclusive remedy for the purpose of determining, civil liability as 
to addiction/dependency claims asserted in the various Castano Actions 
against the manufacturers of cigarettes and others All bases for any 
such claim under the laws of any State are preempted (including State 
substantive, procedural, remedial, and evidentiary provisions) and 
settled, with reservation of the rights of individual class members to 
pursue their claims in a civil action not based on addiction or 
dependency in accordance with this Act. For purposes of determining the 
applicable statute of limitation or repose, individual actions filed by 
those who were included within such class actions shall be considered 
to have been filed as of the date of the filing of the original class 
action.
    ``(b) Arbitration Panel and Awards.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--For the purposes of awarding of 
        attorneys' fees and expenses relating to litigation affected 
        by, or legal services that resulted in whole or in part in, 
        this Act, there is established an Arbitration Panel which shall 
        consist of 3 members appointed as follows:
                    ``(A) one member shall be appointed by the 
                manufacturers;
                    ``(B) one member shall be appointed jointly by the 
                private attorneys and Attorneys General who were 
                signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding dated 
                June 20, 1997, by and between manufacturers, the 
                Attorneys General, and the private attorneys (one vote 
                to the private attorneys and one vote to the Attorneys 
                General); and
                    ``(C) one member shall be appointed jointly by the 
                aforementioned private attorneys, manufacturers, and 
                Attorneys General.
            ``(2) Operation.--
                    ``(A) Establishment.--The members of the 
                Arbitration Panel shall be appointed not later than 30 
                days after the date of enactment of this Act. In the 
                event either the manufacturers or the private 
                attorneys/Attorneys General fail to timely appoint 
                their arbitrator, the Senior Judge for the United 
                States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 
                shall appoint such arbitrator within 10 days after 
                receipt of a petition to do so from a party which was 
                required to appoint an arbitrator. In the event the 
                manufacturers, the private attorneys, and the Attorneys 
                General are unable to agree upon the third arbitrator 
                within a period of 10 days after the later of their 
                appointments, then any of them may petition the Senior 
                Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the 
                District of Columbia to appoint that arbitrator and the 
                Senior Judge shall do so within 10 days after the 
                receipt of a petition requesting the appointment.
                    ``(B) Procedures.--Not later than 30 days after the 
                date on which all members of the Arbitration Panel are 
                appointed, the Panel shall establish the procedures 
                under which the Panel will operate which shall 
                include--
                            ``(i) a requirement that any findings by 
                        the Arbitration Panel must be in writing and 
                        supported by written reasons;
                            ``(ii) procedures for the exchanging of 
                        exhibits and witness lists by the various 
                        claimants for awards;
                            ``(iii) to the maximum extent practicable, 
                        requirements that proceedings before the Panel 
                        be based on affidavits rather than live 
                        testimony; and
                            ``(iv) a requirement that all claims be 
                        submitted to the Arbitration Panel not later 
                        than 3 months after the date of enactment of 
                        this Act and a determination made by the Panel 
                        with respect to such claims not later than 6 
                        months after such date of enactment.
            ``(3) Right to petition.--Any individual attorney or group 
        of attorneys involved in litigation affected by this Act or the 
        rendering of legal services that resulted, in whole or in part, 
        in this Act, shall have the right to petition the Arbitration 
        Panel for attorneys' fees and expenses.
            ``(4) Criteria.--In making any award pursuant to this 
        section, the Arbitration Panel shall consider the following 
        criteria:
                    ``(A) The time and labor required by the claimant.
                    ``(B) The novelty and difficulty of the questions 
                involved in the action for which the claimant is making 
                a claim.
                    ``(C) The skill requisite to perform the legal 
                service involved properly.
                    ``(D) The preclusion of other employment by the 
                attorney due to acceptance of the action involved.
                    ``(E) Whether the fee is fixed or a percentage.
                    ``(F) Time limitations imposed by the client or the 
                circumstances.
                    ``(G) The amount involved and the results obtained.
                    ``(H) The experience, reputation, and ability of 
                the attorneys involved.
                    ``(I) The undesirability of this action.
            ``(5) Appeal and enforcement.--The findings of the 
        Arbitration Panel shall be final, binding, nonappealable, and 
        payable within 30 days after the date on which the finding is 
        made public, except that if an award is to be paid in 
        installments, the first installment shall be payable within 
        such 30-day period and succeeding installments shall be paid 
        annually thereafter.
            ``(6) Source and payment of awards.--In no event shall any 
        award of the Arbitration Panel be paid from, credited against, 
        or otherwise affect, in any way any other payments that are 
        required to be made by a manufacturer under any other provision 
        of this Act. Any such award shall be payable jointly and 
        severally by the manufacturers and liability therefor cannot be 
        discharged or avoided in bankruptcy proceedings. In any 
        bankruptcy proceedings, all awards of the Arbitration Panel 
        shall be afforded the same status as payments to be made 
        pursuant to this Act.
            ``(7) Validity and enforceability of private agreements.--
        Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, nothing in 
        this section shall be construed to abrogate or restrict in any 
        way the rights of any parties to mediate, negotiate, or settle 
        any fee or expense disputes or issues to which this section 
        applies, or to enter into private agreements with respect to 
        the allocation or division of fees among the attorneys party to 
        any such agreement.
    ``(c) Definitions.--As used in this subtitle:
            ``(1) Castano actions.--The term `Castano actions' means 
        the following civil actions: Glona Wilkinson Lyons, et al. v. 
        American Tobacco Co., et al. (USDC Alabama 96-0881-BH); Agnes 
        McGinty, et al. v. American Tobacco Co., et al. (USDC Arkansas 
        LR-C-96-861); Willard R. Brown, et al. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco 
        Co., et al. (San Diego, California-00711400); Gray Davis & 
        James Ellis, et al. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al. (San 
        Diego, California-00706458); Chester Lyons, et al. v. Brown & 
        Williamson Tobacco Corp., et al. (Fulton County, Georgia-E-
        59346); Roselyn Peterson, et al. v. American Tobacco Co., et 
        al. (USDC Hawaii-97-00233-HG); Jean Clay, et al. v. American 
        Tobacco Co., et al. (USDC Illinois Benton Division-97-4167-
        JPG); William J. Norton, et al. v. RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp., 
        et al. (Madison County, Indiana 48001-9605-CP-0271); Alge Emig, 
        et al. v. American Tobacco Co., et al. (USDC Kansas-97-1121-
        MIB); Gloria Scott, et al. v. American Tobacco Co., et al. 
        (Orleans Parish, Louisiana-97-1178); Vern Masepohl, et al. v. 
        American Tobacco Co., et al. (USDC Minnesota-3-06-CV-888); 
        Matthew Tepper, et al. v. Philip Morris Incorporated, et al. 
        (Bergen County, New Jersey-BER-L-4983-97-E); Carol A. Connor, 
        et al. v. American Tobacco Co., et al. (Bernalillo County, New 
        Mexico-CV96-8464); Edwin Paul Hoskins, et al. v. R.J. Reynolds 
        Tobacco Co., et al.; Josephine Stewart-Lomantz v. Brown & 
        Williamson Tobacco, et al.; Rose Frosina, et al. v. Philip 
        Morris Incorporated, et al.; Catherine Zito, et al. v. American 
        Tobacco Co., et al.; Kevin Mroczkowski, et al. v. Lorillard 
        Tobacco Company, et al. (Supreme Court New York County, New 
        York-110949 thru 110953); Judith E. Chamberlain, et al. v. 
        American Tobacco Co., et al. (USDC Ohio-1:96CV2005); Brian 
        Walls, et al. v. American Tobacco Co., et al. (USDC Oklahoma-
        97-CV-218-H); Steven R. Arch, et al. v. American Tobacco Co., 
        et al. (USDC Pennsylvania-96-5903-CN); Barreras-Ruiz, et al. v. 
        American Tobacco Co., et al. (USDC Puerto Rico-96-2300-JAF); 
        Joanne Anderson, et al. v. American Tobacco Co., et al. (Knox 
        County, Tennessee); Carlis Cole, et al. v. The Tobacco 
        Institute, Inc., et al. (USDC Beaumont Texas Division-
        1:97CV0256); Carrol Jackson, et al. v. Philip Morris 
        Incorporated, et al. (Salt Lake County, Utah-CV No. 98-
        0901634PI).
            ``(2) Addiction claims.--The term `addiction claims' or 
        `dependency claims' refers only to any cause of action where 
        the claim for relief seeks a cessation program or other means 
        to reduce or eliminate the user's addiction to or dependency on 
        tobacco products, and as used in this subtitle is brought by 
        those who claim the need for nicotine reduction assistance. 
        Neither addiction claims or dependency claims includes claims 
        based upon manifestation of tobacco-related illnesses or 
        tobacco-related diseases.''.
                                 <all>