[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1577 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1577

To establish certain uniform legal principles of liability with respect 
                     to manufacturers of products.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 27, 1999

Mr. Hostettler (for himself, Mr. Norwood, Mr. Stump, Mr. Hayes, and Mr. 
  Tancredo) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
    Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 
Commerce, 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 establish certain uniform legal principles of liability with respect 
                     to manufacturers of products.

    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 ``Interstate Commerce Freedom Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDING AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Finding.--The Congress finds that the free flow of interstate 
commerce is vitally important to the continued economic vitality of the 
Nation.
    (b) Purpose.--Based upon the powers contained in Article I, section 
8, clause 3 of the United States Constitution, the purpose of this Act 
is to promote the free flow of goods and services and to lessen burdens 
on interstate commerce by establishing certain uniform legal principles 
of liability with respect to manufacturers of products that have moved 
in or that otherwise affect interstate commerce.

SEC. 3. RELATIONSHIP TO STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS.

    (a) Relationship to State Laws.--This Act preempts the laws of any 
State to the extent that State laws are inconsistent with this Act, 
except that this Act shall not preempt any State law that provides 
greater protections from liability for manufacturers.
    (b) Relationship to Federal Laws.--Nothing in this Act may be 
construed to supersede or alter any other Federal law.

SEC. 4. LIABILITY OF MANUFACTURER FOR HARM PROXIMATELY CAUSED BY 
              CRIMINAL OR INTENTIONALLY TORTIOUS ACT OF ANOTHER.

    In any civil action brought in any State or Federal court alleging 
liability of a manufacturer for harm resulting from a product of the 
manufacturer, the manufacturer shall not be liable for such harm if a 
proximate cause of the harm was a criminal or intentionally tortious 
act of a person other than the manufacturer.

SEC. 5. LIABILITY OF MANUFACTURER FOR HARM RESULTING FROM SALE OR 
              MARKETING OF PRODUCT.

    In any civil action brought in any State or Federal court alleging 
liability of a manufacturer for harm resulting from any sale or 
marketing of a product of the manufacturer, the manufacturer shall not 
be liable for such harm unless the manufacturer failed to substantially 
comply with a State or Federal statute applicable to the sale or 
marketing of such product and such failure was a proximate cause of the 
harm.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall apply:
            (1) Claimant.--The term ``claimant'' means a person who 
        brought the civil action against the manufacturer, or a person 
        on whose behalf the civil action was brought.
            (2) Harm.--The term ``harm'' includes any physical, 
        nonphysical, economic, or noneconomic loss.
            (3) Manufacturer.--The term ``manufacturer'' means, with 
        respect to a product, any person who produced, created, made, 
        constructed, or designed the product.
            (4) Product.--The term ``product'' means any object or 
        substance produced, created, made, constructed, or designed for 
        commercial or personal use that has moved in or that otherwise 
        affects interstate commerce.
            (5) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the 
        United States, the District of Columbia, Commonwealth of Puerto 
        Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, Guam, 
        American Samoa, and any other territory or possession of the 
        United States, or any political subdivision of any of the 
        foregoing.

SEC. 7. APPLICABILITY.

    This Act shall apply to any civil action commenced after the date 
of enactment of this Act.
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