When Lawyer Doug Landau teaches civics and the Constitution at various local middle schools, he emphasizes the protections afforded to each of us under the law. He notes, “The civil jury is one of our greatest equalizers. It makes equal rich and poor.” However, in less than two months, anti-civil justice bills have been coming out of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee without even a hearing. The U.S. House of Representatives has been pushing legislation that would take power away from the individual and small businesses and into the hands of large corporations.

For example, H.R. 1215 could negatively affect anyone who receives health care through a “federal program, subsidy, or tax benefit,” which includes the Affordable Care Act, veteran and service member health plans, Medicare and Medicaid. The bill would take power away from local juries to decide individual cases and consolidate that power in the hands of DC politicians. There would also be a federal mandate on the value of a life—an across-the-board $250,000 “cap” on compensation for “non-economic” injuries, such as paralysis, trauma and reproductive harm. That same cap would also apply whether a parent lost a child, a senior citizen was harmed in a nursing home, or a family breadwinner was permanently disabled due to reckless medical care. Therefore, if you were harmed by an unsafe hospital or nursing home and you tried to seek compensation in court, the likelihood of you seeing full justice would be slim. To read the other provisions of the bill, click here.

Congress is also considering the “Fairness in Class Action Litigation and Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act of 2017.” A group letter to the House opposing this bill states that it would “obliterate class actions in America” and “the fact that the House would even consider such sweeping, reckless legislation without holding a single hearing is an outrage.” In addition, it’d present extreme hardship to asbestos victims and their families by violating their privacy and delaying or denying legitimate claims so that dying victims are never compensated.

We need to join together and make sure that Congress hears our voices. We need to stop these anti-civil justice bills from becoming reality. Please join Abrams Landau, Ltd.’s continued efforts in demanding justice for all. Contact your Congressperson and Senators and share your opinions today. Read more about the bills and the group letters opposing them here. Go here to make a call or write a letter to your representative to vote NO on anti-civil justice legislation.