In a misguided effort to achieve what is euphemistically called "tort reform", the National Assn. of REALTORS (NAR) has endorsed the Class Action Fairness Act, legislation that will make it more difficult for consumers to obtain effective and efficient judicial relief for injuries caused by defective products, fraud in the marketplace, or discrimination.
The Alliance for Justice, a nonprofit public advocacy group, sums it up: "The Class Action Fairness Act will make it easier for corporations who have done wrong to evade accountability to the general public and will go a long way toward trampling vital rights and protections guaranteed to ordinary citizens. A coalition of civil rights organizations, consumer groups, environmental groups, workers groups and civil justice groups are working together to point out the dangerous changes to our legal system that this bill would create. Class actions allow average citizens to stop pollution, enforce state wage-and-hour employment rules and protect other consumers from defective and unsafe products. In each of these cases, the bill will make it harder for the average citizen to stop corporations from breaking state law, making the Class Action Fairness Act blatantly unfair."
The National Organization of Women (NOW) says: "This legislation seeks to move most state court class actions into federal courts, posing a threat to basic civil rights and unfairly blocking the disadvantaged members of society, including women and racial minorities, from obtaining relief from discrimination and unlawful practices. Class action litigation is one of the most important tools that women and people of color can use to help level the playing field. We must do everything we can to oppose this bill and to encourage senators to do the same."
A proposed amendment will address underlying problems while preserving the protections cherished by US citizens presently. Contact your senator and urge him/her to oppose this bill.
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