- Debate began yesterday in the Senate over a proposal
that would seriously weaken the ability of citizens to seek redress for
harm done by polluters.
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- The so-called Class Action Fairness Act (S.5), would
shift all citizens' class action lawsuits from states to already overburdened
federal courts.
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- Proponents of S.5 see it as a way to weaken the rights
of citizens to band together to seek damages for harm done on issues ranging
from the environment to public health, civil rights, workers' rights and
consumer protection.
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- If enacted, S.5 would add huge costs and vast time delays
for victims filing lawsuits.
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- "As passed in Committee, this bill will undermine
longstanding rights and protections that ordinary Americans take for granted,"
said Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron. "Americans believe in
fair justice, and that if you break something, you should fix it. This
bill eliminates those fundamental principles, making it almost impossible
for individuals to join together to hold large corporations responsible
for the damages they cause." [1]
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- Environmentalists are seeking an amendment that would
exempt state environmental suits from the bill, which is a priority of
President Bush and his close ally, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
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- Some 16 national environmental groups have endorsed a
statement by James Cox, legislative counsel at Earthjustice, which says
that S.5 "...would reward polluters by giving them a powerful tool
with which to delay cleanup and the payment of medical costs to those they
have hurt. It would allow polluters to attempt to remove cases involving
toxic spills and other public health and environmental harms from the state
courts...into federal courts that are often hundreds of miles from where
the harm took place."
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- Environmentalists cite the widespread occurrence of groundwater
contamination from MTBE, a gasoline additive, to show that the Class Action
Fairness Act will jeopardize swift resolution of the problem.
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- MTBE has been found in groundwater in 35 states, and
thousands of families across the country have been affected by MTBE pollution.
If S.5 becomes law, the class action suits filed under state law would
be moved to federal courts, making them far more expensive and more difficult
for the victims.
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- SOURCES: [1] Alliance for Justice statement, Feb. 3,
2005. http://www.allianceforjustice.org/spotlight/cafacommvote.pdf
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- Copyright © 2003 Environmental Media Services
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- http://www.bushgreenwatch.org/mt_archives/000238.php
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