House Judiciary Committee Passes "Fairness in Class Action" Bill

The House Judiciary Committee "reported favorably to the House" the so-called "Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2015" this morning, splitting along party lines.  

Under this Act, to obtain class certification, class action plaintiffs "seeking monetary relief for personal injury or economic loss" will have to "affirmatively demonstrate[] that each proposed class member suffered the same type and scope of injury as the named class representative."  

Amendments offered by Democrats all failed.  These failed amendments were to: except Title VII claims; except antitrust claims; strike the words "and scope"; strike the words "or economic loss"; require Judicial Conference approval of the changes; and require the Administrative Office of the US Courts to assess the effect of the bill on litigants and courts.   

Govtrack.us gives this bill a 19% chance of passing.  The US Chamber of Commerce is already reported to be celebrating.