Here. Markup on the bills is schedule for tomorrow. Excerpt from Frankel's piece:
The bill would limit class certification to class actions in which plaintiffs all “suffered the same type and scope of injury” and would bar certification unless courts can ascertain class membership and assure that only injured plaintiffs recover. Class action lawyers would not be able to sue on behalf of relatives and employees – or any other client with whom they have an ongoing contractual or attorney-client relationship. Class certification decisions would be automatically appealable. Attorneys’ fees in class actions resolved through injunctions would be limited to a percentage of the “value of the equitable relief.”
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At least two leading class action law profs – Myriam Gilles of Cardozo and Elizabeth Burch of the University of Georgia – have submitted comments. Gilles, who described the proposed legislation in an email as a “partisan, kill-all-class-actions bill,” focused her submission to the Judiciary Committee Democrats on the vast body of class action precedent, including Supreme Court cases, that guides judges on predominance and ascertainability. She also raised her concerns about the future of issues cases. Burch’s 8-page letter points out that the judiciary is already addressing many of the issues the Goodlatte bill raises * * *
