Protecting Class Action Plaintiffs Act of 1995

[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1501 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1501

 To amend part V of title 28, United States Code, to require that the
 Department of Justice and State attorneys general are provided notice
 of a class action certification or settlement, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 22, 1995

  Mr. Cohen (for himself and Mr. Nunn) introduced the following bill;
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To amend part V of title 28, United States Code, to require that the
 Department of Justice and State attorneys general are provided notice
 of a class action certification or settlement, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Class Action Plaintiffs
Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT OF CLASS ACTION CERTIFICATION OR
              SETTLEMENT.

    (a) In General.--Part V of title 28, United States Code, is amended
by inserting after chapter 113 the following new chapter:

                      ``CHAPTER 114--CLASS ACTIONS

``Sec.
``1711. Notification of class action certifications and settlements.
``Sec. 1711. Notification of class action certifications and
              settlements
    ``(a) For purposes of this section, the term--
            ``(1) `class' means a group of similarly situated
        individuals, defined by a class certification order, that
        comprise a party in a class action lawsuit;
            ``(2) `class action' means a lawsuit filed pursuant to rule
        23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or similar State
        rules of procedure authorizing a lawsuit to be brought by 1 or
        more representative individuals on behalf of a class;
            ``(3) `class certification order' means an order issued by
        a court approving the treatment of a lawsuit as a class action;
            ``(4) `class member' means a person that falls within the
        definition of the class;
            ``(5) `class counsel' means the attorneys representing the
        class in a class action;
            ``(6) `electronic legal databases' means computer services
        available to subscribers containing text of judicial opinions
        and other legal materials, such as LEXIS or WESTLAW;
            ``(7) `official court reporter' means a publicly available
        compilation of published judicial opinions;
            ``(8) `plaintiff class action' means a class action in
        which the plaintiff is a class; and
            ``(9) `proposed settlement' means a settlement agreement
        between the parties in a class action that is subject to court
        approval before it becomes binding on the parties.
    ``(b) This section shall apply to--
            ``(1) all plaintiff class actions filed in Federal court;
        and
            ``(2) all plaintiff class actions filed in State court in
        which--
                    ``(A) any class member resides outside the State in
                which the action is filed; and
                    ``(B) the transaction or occurrence that gave rise
                to the lawsuit occurred in more than one State.
    ``(c) No later than 10 days after a proposed settlement in a class
action is filed in court, class counsel shall serve the State attorney
general of each State in which a class member resides and the
Department of Justice as if they were parties in the class action
with--
            ``(1) a copy of the complaint and any materials filed with
        the complaint;
            ``(2) notice of any scheduled judicial hearing in the class
        action;
            ``(3) any proposed or final notification to class members
        of--
                    ``(A) their rights to request exclusion from the
                class action; and
                    ``(B) a proposed settlement of a class action;
            ``(4) any proposed or final class action settlement;
            ``(5) any settlement or other agreement contemporaneously
        made between class counsel and counsel for the defendants;
            ``(6) any final judgment or notice of dismissal; and
            ``(7) any written judicial opinion relating to the
        materials described under paragraphs (3) through (6).
    ``(d) A hearing to consider final approval of a proposed settlement
may not be held earlier than 120 days after the date on which the State
attorney generals and the Department of Justice are served notice under
subsection (c).
    ``(e) A class member may refuse to comply with and may choose not
be bound by a settlement agreement or consent decree in a class action
lawsuit if the class member resides in a State where the State attorney
general has not been provided notice and materials under subsection
(c). The rights created by this subsection shall apply only to class
members or any person acting on their behalf.
    ``(f) Any court order certifying a class, approving a proposed
settlement in a class action, or entering a consent decree in a class
action, and any written opinions concerning such court orders and
decrees, shall be made available for publication in official court
reporters and electronic legal databases.
    ``(g) Any court with jurisdiction over a plaintiff class action
shall require that--
            ``(1) any written notice provided to the class through the
        mail or publication in printed media contain a short summary
        written in plain, easily understood language, describing--
                    ``(A) the subject matter of the class action;
                    ``(B) the legal consequences of joining the class
                action;
                    ``(C) if the notice is informing class members of a
                proposed settlement agreement--
                            ``(i) the benefits that will accrue to the
                        class due to the settlement;
                            ``(ii) the rights that class members will
                        lose or waive through the settlement;
                            ``(iii) obligations that will be imposed on
                        the defendants by the settlement;
                            ``(iv) a good faith estimate of the dollar
                        amount of any attorney's fee if possible; and
                            ``(v) an explanation of how any attorney's
                        fee will be calculated and funded; and
                    ``(D) any other material matter; and
            ``(2) any notice provided through television or radio to
        inform the class of its rights to be excluded from a class
        action or a proposed settlement shall, in plain, easily
        understood language--
                    ``(A) describe the individuals that may potentially
                become class members in the class action; and
                    ``(B) explain that the failure of individuals
                falling within the definition of the class to exercise
                their right to be excluded from a class action will
                result in the individual's inclusion in the class
                action.
    ``(h) Compliance with this section shall not immunize any party
from any legal action under Federal or State law, including actions for
malpractice or fraud.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of chapters for
part V of title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting after
the item relating to chapter 113 the following:

``114. Class Actions........................................    1711''.

SEC. 3. APPLICABILITY.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall apply to all
class action lawsuits filed after or pending on the date of enactment
of this Act.
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