Skip to main content
Find a Lawyer

Class Action Fairness Act Tabled for 2004

This article was edited and reviewed by FindLaw Attorney Writers

| Last reviewed
Legally Reviewed

This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw’s team of legal writers and attorneys and in accordance with our editorial standards.

Fact-Checked

The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area.

A bill that everyone thought would pass has been rejected by the Senate. The Class Action Fairness Act was aimed at the abuse of class action lawsuits but did not receive the majority votes that it needed to pass. The vote was 44-43. Therefore, it is a dead issue for this election year.

The legislation could have changed federal law to provide federal jurisdiction for class actions where the amount in question was over $2 million and where any plaintiff and any defendant were citizens of different states. Though the bill had strong support initially, opposition came when Republican leaders refused Democratic attempts to link it to other major legislative concerns.

Proponents of the bill remain committed to bringing it to the floor again in the next legislative year.

Was this helpful?

Copied to clipboard