Capitol Beat

In a 16-10 vote, a House Judiciary Committee approved the Class Action Fairness Act of 2002, bipartisan class action lawsuit reform legislation that would allow either party to ask that a case be moved to a federal court from a state court. “The federal courts are where these suits belong, and that’s why the founding fathers established a system of minimal diversity to create jurisdiction in the federal court system for cases like these that cross state boundaries,” said Melissa Shelk, vice president for federal affairs for the American Insurance Association. “Consumers will still get their day in court, but they’ll be protected because the system will be fairer and simpler.” Among the consumer protections included in the bill are a plain English requirement and judicial scrutiny of coupon settlements. The full House will now consider the bill.