[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2223 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2223

 To provide a moratorium on certain class actions relating to the Real 
               Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 25, 1998

  Mr. Grams (for himself, Mr. Faircloth, Mr. Bryan, Mr. Thurmond, Mr. 
Breaux, Mr. Allard, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Domenici, 
 Mr. Reid, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Ashcroft, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Mack, Mr. McCain, 
 and Mr. Enzi) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide a moratorium on certain class actions relating to the Real 
               Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Mortgage Litigation Reform Act of 
1998''.

SEC. 2. MORATORIUM.

    Section 16 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (12 
U.S.C. 2614) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a) In General.--'' after ``Sec. 16.''; 
        and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(b) Class Action Moratorium.--
            ``(1) In general.--During the period beginning on the date 
        of enactment of the Mortgage Litigation Reform Act of 1998 and 
        ending on July 1, 1999, in any State or Federal civil action 
        arising under this Act in which it is alleged that a payment of 
        a thing of value was made by a lender to another lender or to a 
        mortgage broker--
                    ``(A) no party shall serve or cause to be served, 
                or be required to respond to, any discovery concerning 
                any class certification issue;
                    ``(B) no Federal or State court may enter any 
                order--
                            ``(i) certifying any class, other than an 
                        order certifying any class directly in 
                        connection with the settlement and compromise 
                        of any action; or
                            ``(ii) imposing any sanction on any party 
                        for failing to comply with any discovery 
                        seeking information concerning any class 
                        certification issue; and
                    ``(C) all Federal and State courts shall stay all 
                further proceedings in any such action in which an 
                order certifying any class has been entered on or after 
                January 1, 1998, for any purpose other than indirect 
                connection with the settlement and compromise of any 
                such action.
            ``(2) No effect on other actions.--Nothing in this 
        subsection shall be construed to limit or affect any civil 
        action arising under this Act that is not brought by or on 
        behalf of a class.''.
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