[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
[February 18, 2005]
[Pages 270-273]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks on Signing the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005
February 18, 2005
Thank you all. Thanks for coming. Please be seated. Thank you for
coming. Thanks for the warm welcome. Welcome to the people's house. Glad
you're here for the first bill signing ceremony of 2005.
The bill I'm about to sign is a model of effective, bipartisan
legislation. By working together over several years, we have agreed on a
practical way to begin restoring common sense and balance to America's
legal system. The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 marks a critical
step toward ending the lawsuit culture in our country. The bill will
ease the needless burden of litigation on every American worker,
business, and family. By beginning the important work of legal reform,
we are meeting our duty
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to solve problems now and not to pass them on to future generations.
I appreciate so very much the leadership that Senator Frist and Senator McConnell have shown on this bill in the United States
Senate. I want to thank Senator Chris Dodd and Senator Tom Carper and
Senator Craig Thomas as well for working in
a bipartisan fashion to get this good bill to my desk.
I appreciate Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner as well as Congressman Lamar Smith joining us today. I particularly want to pay tribute to
the bill sponsors, Senator Grassley and
Senator Kohl as well as Congressman Bob
Goodlatte and Congressman Rick
Boucher, who are with us here
today.
Congress showed what is possible when we set aside partisan
differences and focus on what's doing right for Congress, and you all
are to be--I mean, for the country--and you're to be credited for your
good work. Thank you very much.
I welcome our new Attorney General--
oh, right there. [Laughter] How quickly they forget in Washington.
[Laughter] Al Gonzales--proud you're up here, Al. Hector
Barreto of the SBA. Thank you, all
the business leaders, community leaders, consumer groups who care about
this issue. Thanks for your hard work. Thanks for being patient. Thanks
for not becoming discouraged. And thanks for witnessing the fruits of
your labor as I sign this bill.
Class actions can serve a valuable purpose in our legal system. They
allow numerous victims of the same wrongdoing to merge their claims into
a single lawsuit. When used properly, class actions make the legal
system more efficient and help guarantee that injured people receive
proper compensation. That is an important principle of justice. So the
bill I sign today maintains every victim's right to seek justice and
ensures that wrongdoers are held to account.
Class actions can also be manipulated for personal gain. Lawyers who
represent plaintiffs from multiple States can shop around for the State
court where they expect to win the most money. A few weeks ago, I
visited Madison County, Illinois, where juries have earned a reputation
for awarding large verdicts. The number of class actions filed in
Madison County has gone from 2 in 1998 to 82 in 2004--even though the
vast majority of the defendants named in those suits are not from
Madison County. Trial lawyers have already filed 24 class actions in
Madison County this year--we're in February--[laughter]--including 20 in
the past week, after Congress made it clear their chance to exploit the
class-action system would soon be gone.
Before today, trial lawyers were able to drag defendants from all
over the country into sympathetic local courts, even if those businesses
have done nothing wrong. Many businesses decided it was cheaper to
settle the lawsuits rather than risk a massive jury award. In many
cases, lawyers went home with huge payouts, while the plaintiffs ended
up with coupons worth only a few dollars. By the time the settlement in
at least one case was finished, plaintiffs actually owed their lawyers
money.
A newspaper editorial called the class-action system ``an extortion
racket that only Congress can fix.'' This bill helps fix the system.
Congress has done its duty, and I'm proud to sign it into law.
Over the past few years, I've met people from all over the country
who know the importance of class-action reform firsthand, and three of
them are with us today. Marylou Rigat lives in
Connecticut, yet a class action involving her faulty roof was resolved
by a judge in Alabama. The award covered only a fraction of the cost of
new shingles, but that wasn't Marylou's biggest problem. She had no idea
she was part of the class action in the first place, and no one
contacted her about her award. She only learned by accident when she
called the company about her warranty. And then she found out there was
nothing more she could do.
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Hilda Bankston is with us. And her late
husband used to own a drugstore in Fayette, Mississippi. Their business
was doing well until the store got swept up in massive litigation just
because it dispensed prescription drugs for a certain drug--
prescriptions for a certain drug. She had to sell the pharmacy 6 years
ago. But she's still getting dragged into court again and again. Here's
what she said: ``My husband and I lived the American Dream until we were
caught up in what has become an American nightmare.''
Alita Ditkowsky is with us. She was part
of a class action against a company that made faulty televisions. When
the case was settled in Madison County, Illinois, Alita's lawyer took
home a big check while she got a $50 rebate on another TV built by the
same company that had ruined the first TV. [Laughter] Here's what she
said: ``I'm still left with a broken TV.'' [Laughter] ``He got $22
million. Where's the justice in this?''
I want to thank you all for letting me use your stories, not only
here but during different events we've had in highlighting the need for
class-action reform, because this act will help ensure justice by making
two essential reforms. First, it moves most large, interstate class
actions into Federal courts. This will prevent trial lawyers from
shopping around for friendly local venues. The bill will keep out-of-
State businesses, workers, and shareholders from being dragged before
unfriendly local juries or forced into unfair settlements. And that's
good for our system, and it's good for our economy.
Second, the bill provides new safeguards to ensure that plaintiffs
in class-action lawsuits are treated fairly. The bill requires judges to
consider the real monetary value of coupons and discounts, so that
victims can count on true compensation for their injuries. It demands
settlements and rulings to be explained in plain English so that class
members understand their full rights.
These are needed reforms. It's an important piece of legislation. It
shows we're making important progress toward a better legal system.
There's more to do. Small-business owners across America fear that
one junk lawsuit could force them to close their doors for good. Medical
liability lawsuits are driving up the cost for doctors and patients and
entrepreneurs around the country. Asbestos litigation alone has led to
the bankruptcy of dozens of companies and cost tens of thousands of
jobs, even though many asbestos claims are filed on behalf of people who
aren't actually sick.
Overall, junk lawsuits have driven the total cost of America's tort
system to more than $240 billion a year, greater than any other major
industrialized nation. It creates a needless disadvantage for America's
workers and businesses in a global economy, imposes unfair costs on job
creators, and raises prices to consumers.
We have a responsibility to confront frivolous litigation head on. I
will continue working with Congress to pass meaningful legal reforms,
starting with reform in our asbestos and medical liability systems.
Once again, I want to thank you all for the hard work on this
important legislation. Class-action reform will help keep America the
best place in the world to do business. It will help ensure justice for
our citizens, and I'm confident that this bill will be the first of many
bipartisan achievements in the year 2005.
And now it is my honor to sign the Class-Action Fairness law.
Note: The President spoke at 11:37 a.m. in the East Room at the White
House. S. 5, approved February 18, was assigned Public Law No. 109-2.
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