[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1927 Engrossed in House (EH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 1927

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
  To amend title 28, United States Code, to improve fairness in class 
                           action litigation.

    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 ``Fairness in Class Action Litigation 
and Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. FAIRNESS IN CLASS ACTION LITIGATION.

    (a) In General.--No Federal court shall certify any proposed class 
seeking monetary relief for personal injury or economic loss unless the 
party seeking to maintain such a class action affirmatively 
demonstrates that each proposed class member suffered the same type and 
scope of injury as the named class representative or representatives.
    (b) Certification Order.--An order issued under Rule 23(c)(1) of 
the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that certifies a class seeking 
monetary relief for personal injury or economic loss shall include a 
determination, based on a rigorous analysis of the evidence presented, 
that the requirement in subsection (a) of this section is satisfied.

SEC. 3. FURTHERING ASBESTOS CLAIM TRANSPARENCY.

    (a) Amendments to Title 11, United States Code.--Section 524(g) of 
title 11, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(8) A trust described in paragraph (2) shall, subject to section 
107--
            ``(A) file with the bankruptcy court, not later than 60 
        days after the end of every quarter, a report that shall be 
        made available on the court's public docket and with respect to 
        such quarter--
                    ``(i) describes each demand the trust received 
                from, including the name and exposure history of, a 
                claimant and the basis for any payment from the trust 
                made to such claimant; and
                    ``(ii) does not include any confidential medical 
                record or the claimant's full social security number; 
                and
            ``(B) upon written request, and subject to payment 
        (demanded at the option of the trust) for any reasonable cost 
        incurred by the trust to comply with such request, provide in a 
        timely manner any information related to payment from, and 
        demands for payment from, such trust, subject to appropriate 
        protective orders, to any party to any action in law or equity 
        if the subject of such action concerns liability for asbestos 
        exposure.''.
    (b) Effective Date; Application of Amendments.--
            (1) Effective date.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        this section and the amendments made by this section take 
        effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (2) Application of amendments.--The amendments made by this 
        section shall apply with respect to cases commenced under title 
        11 of the United States Code before, on, or after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act.

            Passed the House of Representatives January 8, 2016.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
114th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 1927

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

  To amend title 28, United States Code, to improve fairness in class 
                           action litigation.