Carper Statement on Class Action Reform Vote

WASHINGTON: Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., today released the following statement on the Class Action Fairness Act. Carper voted with 58 of his colleagues for the Senate to consider the bill. The motion fell one vote short of the 60 votes needed to take up the bill. “The vote today signifies that we are very close to enacting common-sense legal reform to address the abuses present within the current class action system. Fifty-nine senators agreed it was time to move forward in trying to fix what has become a broken system, in which lawyers manipulate hearing venues to get a more favorable verdict and businesses too quickly settle cases to avoid losing in court – often leaving consumers with little compensation for their injuries,” said Senator Carper. “The current class action system is out of balance. The status quo isn’t acceptable, and we should do better. While we lost today’s battle, we can still win the war. Several senators who didn’t vote with us today have expressed a willingness to work with the bill’s cosponsors to come up with a bipartisan proposal that can pass the Senate later this year or early next year. I pledge to work with my Democratic colleagues and the Republican leadership in trying to address those senators’ concerns so that we can quickly move to reconsider and pass this important bill.”