Senate Kills Bill Targeting Lawsuits

WASHINGTON —  Legislation that supporters said would target abuses of class-action lawsuits was rejected by the Senate on Thursday, a victim of election year skirmishing.

Proponents of the Class Action Fairness Act, which would have moved many lawsuits from state to federal courts, failed to get the 60 votes needed to proceed, in effect killing it for this legislative year. The vote was 44 to 43.

The bill had strong backing but hit an impasse when Republican leaders rejected Democrats’ efforts to link it to several of their major legislative priorities.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) had balked at allowing amendments not directly related to the class-action issue.

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, one of several Democrats who had backed the bill but voted against it Thursday to protest the amendment restrictions, said he was “still hopeful that cooler heads will prevail” and the bill could be resurrected later in the year.

Business leaders expressed disappointment. “This was a vote against America’s workers, employers and consumers that continue to be victimized by a legal system run amok,” said Stanton D. Anderson, chief legal officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Consumer advocates were relieved, however. “This bill would have shifted the balance of power to corporate wrongdoers at the expense of average citizens,” said Sally Greenberg, senior product safety counsel for Consumers Union.

Congress has been trying for years to overhaul class-action lawsuit procedures, particularly the practice of “forum shopping,” in which lawyers seek out courts known for handing out large damage awards.