A law intended to prevent abuses associated with class action lawsuits. The Act
places class action cases under federal jurisdiction (previously, such cases
were within the jurisdiction of state courts), provided the amount at issue is
greater than $5 million. The Act also makes it more difficult for plaintiffs to
go "forum shopping" in search of jurisdictions known for class
action lawsuit abuses. Another important provision within the Act contains
procedures for judicial review of attorneys' fees, which are often
excessive relative to the recoveries received by plaintiffs. Opponents of the
Act have asserted that these changes will deny aggrieved persons their day in
court by making it much more difficult to bring class action suits and that
taking such cases out of state court jurisdiction will clog the federal
courts' dockets.