Home > 107th Congressional Bills > H.R. 861 (eh) To make technical amendments to section 10 of title 9, United States Code. [Engrossed in House] ...H.R. 861 (eh) To make technical amendments to section 10 of title 9, United States Code. [Engrossed in House] ...
Union Calendar No. 9
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 860
[Report No. 107-14]
To amend title 28, United States Code, to allow a judge to whom a case
is transferred to retain jurisdiction over certain multidistrict
litigation cases for trial, and to provide for Federal jurisdiction of
certain multiparty, multiforum civil actions.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 6, 2001
Mr. Sensenbrenner introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on the Judiciary
March 12, 2001
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union
and ordered to be printed
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 28, United States Code, to allow a judge to whom a case
is transferred to retain jurisdiction over certain multidistrict
litigation cases for trial, and to provide for Federal jurisdiction of
certain multiparty, multiforum civil actions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Multidistrict, Multiparty,
Multiforum Trial Jurisdiction Act of 2001''.
SEC. 2. MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION.
Section 1407 of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in the third sentence of subsection (a), by inserting
``or ordered transferred to the transferee or other district
under subsection (i)'' after ``terminated''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(i)(1) Subject to paragraph (2) and except as provided in
subsection (j), any action transferred under this section by the panel
may be transferred for trial purposes, by the judge or judges of the
transferee district to whom the action was assigned, to the transferee
or other district in the interest of justice and for the convenience of
the parties and witnesses.
``(2) Any action transferred for trial purposes under paragraph (1)
shall be remanded by the panel for the determination of compensatory
damages to the district court from which it was transferred, unless the
court to which the action has been transferred for trial purposes also
finds, for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the
interests of justice, that the action should be retained for the
determination of compensatory damages.''.
SEC. 3. MULTIPARTY, MULTIFORUM JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT COURTS.
(a) Basis of Jurisdiction.--
(1) In general.--Chapter 85 of title 28, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
``Sec. 1369. Multiparty, multiforum jurisdiction
``(a) In General.--The district courts shall have original
jurisdiction of any civil action involving minimal diversity between
adverse parties that arises from a single accident, where at least 25
natural persons have either died or incurred injury in the accident at
a discrete location and, in the case of injury, the injury has resulted
in damages which exceed $150,000 per person, exclusive of interest and
costs, if--
``(1) a defendant resides in a State and a substantial part
of the accident took place in another State or other location,
regardless of whether that defendant is also a resident of the
State where a substantial part of the accident took place;
``(2) any two defendants reside in different States,
regardless of whether such defendants are also residents of the
same State or States; or
``(3) substantial parts of the accident took place in
different States.
``(b) Limitation of Jurisdiction of District Courts.--The district
court shall abstain from hearing any civil action described in
subsection (a) in which--
``(1) the substantial majority of all plaintiffs are
citizens of a single State of which the primary defendants are
also citizens; and
``(2) the claims asserted will be governed primarily by the
laws of that State.
``(c) Special Rules and Definitions.--For purposes of this
section--
``(1) minimal diversity exists between adverse parties if
any party is a citizen of a State and any adverse party is a
citizen of another State, a citizen or subject of a foreign
state, or a foreign state as defined in section 1603(a) of this
title;
``(2) a corporation is deemed to be a citizen of any State,
and a citizen or subject of any foreign state, in which it is
incorporated or has its principal place of business, and is
deemed to be a resident of any State in which it is
incorporated or licensed to do business or is doing business;
``(3) the term `injury' means--
``(A) physical harm to a natural person; and
``(B) physical damage to or destruction of tangible
property, but only if physical harm described in
subparagraph (A) exists;
``(4) the term `accident' means a sudden accident, or a
natural event culminating in an accident, that results in death
or injury incurred at a discrete location by at least 25
natural persons; and
``(5) the term `State' includes the District of Columbia,
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or
possession of the United States.
``(d) Intervening Parties.--In any action in a district court which
is or could have been brought, in whole or in part, under this section,
any person with a claim arising from the accident described in
subsection (a) shall be permitted to intervene as a party plaintiff in
the action, even if that person could not have brought an action in a
district court as an original matter.
``(e) Notification of Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.--
A district court in which an action under this section is pending shall
promptly notify the judicial panel on multidistrict litigation of the
pendency of the action.''.
(2) Conforming amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of chapter 85 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following new item:
``1369. Multiparty, multiforum jurisdiction.''.
(b) Venue.--Section 1391 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) A civil action in which jurisdiction of the district court is
based upon section 1369 of this title may be brought in any district in
which any defendant resides or in which a substantial part of the
accident giving rise to the action took place.''.
(c) Multidistrict Litigation.--Section 1407 of title 28, United
States Code, as amended by section 2 of this Act, is further amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(j)(1) In actions transferred under this section when
jurisdiction is or could have been based, in whole or in part, on
section 1369 of this title, the transferee district court may,
notwithstanding any other provision of this section, retain actions so
transferred for the determination of liability and punitive damages. An
action retained for the determination of liability shall be remanded to
the district court from which the action was transferred, or to the
State court from which the action was removed, for the determination of
damages, other than punitive damages, unless the court finds, for the
convenience of parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice,
that the action should be retained for the determination of damages.
``(2) Any remand under paragraph (1) shall not be effective until
60 days after the transferee court has issued an order determining
liability and has certified its intention to remand some or all of the
transferred actions for the determination of damages. An appeal with
respect to the liability determination and the choice of law
determination of the transferee court may be taken during that 60-day
period to the court of appeals with appellate jurisdiction over the
transferee court. In the event a party files such an appeal, the remand
shall not be effective until the appeal has been finally disposed of.
Once the remand has become effective, the liability determination and
the choice of law determination shall not be subject to further review
by appeal or otherwise.
``(3) An appeal with respect to determination of punitive damages
by the transferee court may be taken, during the 60-day period
beginning on the date the order making the determination is issued, to
the court of appeals with jurisdiction over the transferee court.
``(4) Any decision under this subsection concerning remand for the
determination of damages shall not be reviewable by appeal or
otherwise.
``(5) Nothing in this subsection shall restrict the authority of
the transferee court to transfer or dismiss an action on the ground of
inconvenient forum.''.
(d) Removal of Actions.--Section 1441 of title 28, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (e) by striking ``(e) The court to which
such civil action is removed'' and inserting ``(f) The court to
which a civil action is removed under this section''; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new
subsection:
``(e)(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this
section, a defendant in a civil action in a State court may remove the
action to the district court of the United States for the district and
division embracing the place where the action is pending if--
``(A) the action could have been brought in a United States
district court under section 1369 of this title; or
``(B) the defendant is a party to an action which is or
could have been brought, in whole or in part, under section
1369 in a United States district court and arises from the same
accident as the action in State court, even if the action to be
removed could not have been brought in a district court as an
original matter.
The removal of an action under this subsection shall be made in
accordance with section 1446 of this title, except that a notice of
removal may also be filed before trial of the action in State court
within 30 days after the date on which the defendant first becomes a
party to an action under section 1369 in a United States district court
that arises from the same accident as the action in State court, or at
a later time with leave of the district court.
``(2) Whenever an action is removed under this subsection and the
district court to which it is removed or transferred under section
1407(j) has made a liability determination requiring further
proceedings as to damages, the district court shall remand the action
to the State court from which it had been removed for the determination
of damages, unless the court finds that, for the convenience of parties
and witnesses and in the interest of justice, the action should be
retained for the determination of damages.
``(3) Any remand under paragraph (2) shall not be effective until
60 days after the district court has issued an order determining
liability and has certified its intention to remand the removed action
for the determination of damages. An appeal with respect to the
liability determination and the choice of law determination of the
district court may be taken during that 60-day period to the court of
appeals with appellate jurisdiction over the district court. In the
event a party files such an appeal, the remand shall not be effective
until the appeal has been finally disposed of. Once the remand has
become effective, the liability determination and the choice of law
determination shall not be subject to further review by appeal or
otherwise.
``(4) Any decision under this subsection concerning remand for the
determination of damages shall not be reviewable by appeal or
otherwise.
``(5) An action removed under this subsection shall be deemed to be
an action under section 1369 and an action in which jurisdiction is
based on section 1368 of this title for purposes of this section and
sections 1407, 1660, 1697, and 1785 of this title.
``(6) Nothing in this subsection shall restrict the authority of
the district court to transfer or dismiss an action on the ground of
inconvenient forum.''.
(e) Service of Process.--
(1) Other than subpoenas.--(A) Chapter 113 of title 28,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``Sec. 1697. Service in multiparty, multiforum actions
``When the jurisdiction of the district court is based in whole or
in part upon section 1369 of this title, process, other than subpoenas,
may be served at any place within the United States, or anywhere
outside the United States if otherwise permitted by law.''.
(B) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 113
of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following new item:
``1697. Service in multiparty, multiforum actions.''.
(2) Service of subpoenas.--(A) Chapter 117 of title 28,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``Sec. 1785. Subpoenas in multiparty, multiforum actions
``When the jurisdiction of the district court is based in whole or
in part upon section 1369 of this title, a subpoena for attendance at a
hearing or trial may, if authorized by the court upon motion for good
cause shown, and upon such terms and conditions as the court may
impose, be served at any place within the United States, or anywhere
outside the United States if otherwise permitted by law.''.
(B) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 117
of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following new item:
``1785. Subpoenas in multiparty, multiforum actions.''.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) Section 2.--The amendments made by section 2 shall apply to any
civil action pending on or brought on or after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(b) Section 3.--The amendments made by section 3 shall apply to a
civil action if the accident giving rise to the cause of action
occurred on or after the 90th day after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
Union Calendar No. 9
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 860
[Report No. 107-14]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 28, United States Code, to allow a judge to whom a case
is transferred to retain jurisdiction over certain multidistrict
litigation cases for trial, and to provide for Federal jurisdiction of
certain multiparty, multiforum civil actions.
_______________________________________________________________________
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