Federal double-whammy: the Class Action "Fairness" Act
As if Proposition 64 weren't enough, plaintiffs' attorneys may soon have to deal with the so-called "Class Action Fairness Act of 2005" (S.5), which appears poised to pass at the federal level. Now that Prop. 64 requires most UCL claims to be pleaded as class actions, many of them may become removable to federal court, if the "Fairness" Act passes. California Wage Law has a good summary of the problems with this proposed legislation. This is another example of legislators using a handful of well-publicized, yet isolated, instances of abuse to justify throwing the baby out with the bathwater, penalizing the good attorneys (and their clients) with the bad. Everyone should write to Senator Feinstein and urge her to (a) withdraw her support from S.5, or (b) support the Bingamen amendment, which could make class certification less daunting after S.5 by dealing with choice-of-law issues. The time to do this is right now.
- posted by Kim Kralowec @ 7:05 AM