US PIRG reports that the House is taking action on HR 1927, The Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2015. The bill would in effect wipe out the class action mechanism by requiring all victims to suffer the exact same injury or harm in “type and scope.” For example, if a VW “Defeat Device” reduces the value of a 2011 diesel by $2000 but a 2010 diesel by only $1000, the two owners couldn’t join the same class, even though class actions are really the only way to hold VW accountable to its customers. As Joanne Doroshow of New York Law School’s Center for Justice and Democracy states: “Classes inherently include a range of affected individuals, and virtually never does every member of the class suffer the same scope of injury even from the same wrongdoing. H.R. 1927 will wipe out one of the most important tools for justice in America.” Read PIRGs 70-group letter of opposition sent to the House.
Corporations and Health Watch 