[House Report 114-389]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


114th Congress   }                                       {      Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session      }                                       {     114-389

======================================================================

 
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE BILL (H.R. 1927) TO AMEND TITLE 28, 
   UNITED STATES CODE, TO IMPROVE FAIRNESS IN CLASS ACTION LITIGATION

                                _______
                                

  January 6, 2016.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

         Mr. Collins of Georgia, from the Committee on Rules, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                       [To accompany H. Res. 581]

    The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration 
House Resolution 581, by a record vote of 8 to 4, report the 
same to the House with the recommendation that the resolution 
be adopted.

                SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION

    The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 1927, the 
Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2015, under a 
structured rule. The resolution provides one hour of general 
debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking 
minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary. The 
resolution waives all points of order against consideration of 
the bill. The resolution makes in order as original text for 
the purpose of amendment an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 114-
38 and provides that it shall be considered as read. The 
resolution waives all points of order against that amendment in 
the nature of a substitute. The resolution makes in order only 
those further amendments printed in this report. Each such 
amendment may be offered only in the order printed in this 
report, may be offered only by a Member designated in this 
report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the 
time specified in this report equally divided and controlled by 
the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to 
amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of 
the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. The 
resolution waives all points of order against the amendments 
printed in this report. The resolution provides one motion to 
recommit with or without instructions.
    Section 2 of the resolution provides that a vote on any 
motion relating to the disposition of the veto message for H.R. 
3762 may be postponed through the legislative day of January 
25, 2016, as though under clause 8 of rule XX.

                         EXPLANATION OF WAIVERS

    Although the resolution waives all points of order against 
consideration of the bill, the Committee is not aware of any 
points of order. The waiver of all points of order prophylactic 
in nature.
    The waiver of all points of order against the amendment in 
the nature of a substitute to H.R. 1927 made in order as 
original text includes a waiver of clause 7 of rule XVI, which 
requires that no motion or proposition on a subject different 
from that under consideration shall be admitted under color of 
amendment. However, it is important to note that Rules 
Committee Print 114-38 contains the texts of H.R. 1927 and H.R. 
526 as reported by the Committee on the Judiciary, with 
conforming changes.
    Although the resolution waives all points of order against 
the amendments printed in this report, the Committee is not 
aware of any points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in 
nature.

                            COMMITTEE VOTES

    The results of each record vote on an amendment or motion 
to report, together with the names of those voting for and 
against, are printed below:

Rules Committee record vote No. 136

    Motion by Ms. Slaughter to strike section 2 of the 
resolution. Defeated: 4-8

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Majority Members                      Vote               Minority Members               Vote
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ms. Foxx........................................          Nay   Ms. Slaughter.....................          Yea
Mr. Cole........................................          Nay   Mr. McGovern......................          Yea
Mr. Woodall.....................................          Nay   Mr. Hastings of Florida...........          Yea
Mr. Burgess.....................................          Nay   Mr. Polis.........................          Yea
Mr. Stivers.....................................          Nay
Mr. Collins.....................................          Nay
Mr. Byrne.......................................          Nay
Mr. Newhouse....................................  ............
Mr. Sessions, Chairman..........................          Nay
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rules Committee record vote No. 137

    Motion by Mr. McGovern to report an open rule. Defeated: 4-
8

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Majority Members                      Vote               Minority Members               Vote
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ms. Foxx........................................          Nay   Ms. Slaughter.....................          Yea
Mr. Cole........................................          Nay   Mr. McGovern......................          Yea
Mr. Woodall.....................................          Nay   Mr. Hastings of Florida...........          Yea
Mr. Burgess.....................................          Nay   Mr. Polis.........................          Yea
Mr. Stivers.....................................          Nay
Mr. Collins.....................................          Nay
Mr. Byrne.......................................          Nay
Mr. Newhouse....................................  ............
Mr. Sessions, Chairman..........................          Nay
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rules Committee record vote No. 138

    Motion by Mr. Hastings of Florida to make in order and 
provide the appropriate waivers for amendment #11, offered by 
Rep. Fitzpatrick (PA), which clarifies that a patient harmed by 
an FDA approved medical device is not barred from having his or 
her claim of injury heard by a State court. Defeated: 4-8

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Majority Members                      Vote               Minority Members               Vote
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ms. Foxx........................................          Nay   Ms. Slaughter.....................          Yea
Mr. Cole........................................          Nay   Mr. McGovern......................          Yea
Mr. Woodall.....................................          Nay   Mr. Hastings of Florida...........          Yea
Mr. Burgess.....................................          Nay   Mr. Polis.........................          Yea
Mr. Stivers.....................................          Nay
Mr. Collins.....................................          Nay
Mr. Byrne.......................................          Nay
Mr. Newhouse....................................  ............
Mr. Sessions, Chairman..........................          Nay
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rules Committee record vote No. 139

    Motion by Ms. Foxx to report the rule. Adopted: 8-4

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Majority Members                      Vote               Minority Members               Vote
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ms. Foxx........................................          Yea   Ms. Slaughter.....................          Nay
Mr. Cole........................................          Yea   Mr. McGovern......................          Nay
Mr. Woodall.....................................          Yea   Mr. Hastings of Florida...........          Nay
Mr. Burgess.....................................          Yea   Mr. Polis.........................          Nay
Mr. Stivers.....................................          Yea
Mr. Collins.....................................          Yea
Mr. Byrne.......................................          Yea
Mr. Newhouse....................................  ............
Mr. Sessions, Chairman..........................          Yea
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                SUMMARY OF THE AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

    1. Cohen (TN): Makes an exception from the bill's required 
showings for class certification for claims for monetary relief 
against the perpetrator of a terrorist attack by victims of 
such attack. (10 minutes)
    2. Cohen (TN): Makes an exception from the bill's required 
showings for class certification for claims for monetary relief 
arising from a foreign-made product. (10 minutes)
    3. Conyers (MI): Exception from the bill's required 
showings for class certification for claims for monetary relief 
pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (10 
minutes)
    4. Deutch (FL): Creates an exception for claims brought by 
a gun owner seeking monetary relief involving the defective 
design or manufacturing of a firearm. (10 minutes)
    5. Moore, Gwen (WI): Exempts causes of action arising under 
the Fair Housing Act or the Equal Credit Opportunity Act from 
the bill's requirements. (10 minutes)
    6. Moore, Gwen (WI): Exempts causes of action arising from 
a pay equity claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act or 
the Equal Pay Act from the requirements of the bill. (10 
minutes)
    7. Waters (CA): Creates an exception for claims brought by 
students, service members and veterans seeking relief from 
institutions of higher education that have engaged in 
fraudulent activities and unfair practices (10 minutes)
    8. Johnson, Hank (GA): Strikes the ``scope'' and ``economic 
loss'' language from the bill. (10 minutes)
    9. Jackson Lee (TX): Provides litigants in a pending class 
action access to information held in a trust that is directly 
related to a plaintiff's claim for asbestos exposure. (10 
minutes)
    10. Nadler (NY): Replaces the bill's requirement for 
asbestos trusts to disclose detailed personal information with 
aggregate reporting of demands received and payments made by 
the trusts. (10 minutes)

                    TEXT OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

 1. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Cohen of Tennessee or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Line 6 on the first page, strike ``No'' and insert ``Except 
as provided in subsection (c), no''.
  After line 18 on the first page, insert the following:
  (c) Exception.--Subsection (a) does not apply with respect to 
a claim for monetary relief brought against a perpetrator of a 
terrorist attack by a victim of the attack.
                              ----------                              


 2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Cohen of Tennessee or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Line 6 on the first page, strike ``No'' and insert ``Except 
as provided in subsection (c), no''.
  After line 18 on the first page, insert the following:
  (c) Exception.--Subsection (a) does not apply with respect to 
a claim for monetary relief arising from a foreign-made 
product.
                              ----------                              


    3. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Conyers, Jr. of 
           Michigan or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Line 6 on the first page, strike ``No'' and insert ``Except 
as provided in subsection (c), no''.
  After line 18 on the first page, insert the following:
  (c) Exception.--Subsection (a) does not apply with respect to 
a claim for monetary relief under title VII of the Civil Rights 
Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.).
                              ----------                              


 4. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Deutch of Florida or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Line 6 on the first page, strike ``No'' and insert ``Except 
as provided in subsection (c), no''.
  After line 18 on the first page, insert the following:
  (c) Exception.--This section does not apply with respect to a 
claim brought by a gun owner seeking monetary relief involving 
the defective design or manufacturing of a firearm.
                              ----------                              


 5. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Moore of Wisconsin or 
                 Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Line 6 on the first page, strike ``No'' and insert ``Except 
as provided in subsection (c), no''.
  After line 18 on the first page, insert the following:
  (c) Exception.--Subsection (a) does not apply with respect to 
causes of action arising under the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 
3601 et seq.) or the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 
1691 et seq.).
                              ----------                              


 6. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Moore of Wisconsin or 
                 Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Line 6 on the first page, strike ``No'' and insert ``Except 
as provided in subsection (c), no''.
  After line 18 on the first page, insert the following:
  (c) Exception.--Subsection (a) does not apply with respect to 
any cause of action arising from a pay equity claim under Title 
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C 2000e et seq.) or 
that portion of the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 206(d)) 
known as the Equal Pay Act of 1963.
                              ----------                              


7. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Waters of California or 
                 Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  On the first page, line 6, strike ``No'' and insert ``Except 
as provided in subsection (c), no''.
  On the first page, after line 18 insert the following:
  (c) Exception.--The requirements for a demonstration under 
subsection (a) and the inclusion of a determination relating to 
that requirement under subsection (b) do not apply with respect 
to a claim against--
          (1) any institution or third party servicer that 
        receives or services funds under title IV of the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.);
          (2) any institution that originates, services, or 
        otherwise administers qualified education loans (as 
        defined in section 221 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986); or
          (3) any institution providing a course of education 
        approved for purposes of chapter 33 of title 38, United 
        States Code.
                              ----------                              


 8. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Johnson of Georgia or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Line 10 on the first page, strike ``and scope''.
  Line 8 on the first page, strike ``or economic loss''.
                              ----------                              


9. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Jackson Lee of Texas or 
                 Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Beginning on page 2, strike line 5 and all that follows 
through line 2 on page 3, and insert the following:
  ``(8)(A) A trust described in paragraph (2) shall, subject to 
subparagraph (B) and section 107, provide 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, to any party that is a defendant in a pending 
court action relating to asbestos exposure, information that is 
directly related to the plaintiff's claim in that pending 
action.
  ``(B) A defendant requesting information under subparagraph 
(A) shall first disclose to such plaintiff and such trust, 
subject to an appropriate protective order the median 
settlement amount paid by that defendant for claims settled or 
paid within 5 years of the date of the request, by disease 
category, for the State in which the plaintiff's action was 
filed. No personally identifiable information shall be included 
in any exchange of information under this paragraph.''.
                              ----------                              


10. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Nadler of New York or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Beginning on page 2, strike line 5 and all that follows 
through line 2 on page 3, and insert the following:
  ``(8) A trust described in paragraph (2) shall 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 each such reporting period 
contains an aggregate list of demands received and an aggregate 
list of payments made.''.

                                  [all]