The Corporate Lobbying
Campaign in Favor of the Class Action Bills (H.R. 1875/S.
353)
Major Players Include Business
Associations, Manufacturers, Pharmaceuticals, Insurance, Automakers and Big
Tobacco
The Corporate Lobbying Campaign in Favor of the Class Action Bills (H.R. 1875/S. 353)
Major Players Include Business Associations, Manufacturers, Pharmaceuticals, Insurance, Automakers and Big Tobacco
Public Citizen estimates in a new study that America’s leading business trade associations and corporations spent at least $1 million in 1998 and the first half of 1999 lobbying Congress to pass class action legislation (H.R. 1875/S. 353). The legislation is being considered before the full House on Thursday, Sept. 23.
Who Is Promoting H.R. 1875/S. 353?
In a Dec. 17, 1998, letter to Republican House and Senate leaders (attached), 19 leading business associations stated both their unity behind House and Senate bills designed to weaken the rights of consumers to pursue class action lawsuits and their commitment to devote their "collective resources to [the legislation’s] enactment."
Corporations putting "heavy hitter" lobbyists and big dollars behind H.R. 1875/S. 353 include representatives from the tobacco, insurance, pharmaceutical, chemical and automotive interests. Indeed, corporate support for this legislation is so strong that 17 staff members at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce alone have lobbied Congress on these bills, according to lobbying disclosures.
The Civil Justice Reform Group (CJRG), a coalition of general counsels from more than 50 of the Fortune 100 firms, is the leading proponent of the class action bills. CJRG has:
- Spent more than $780,000 during the past 18 months promoting the current class action bills and similar versions last year (H.R. 3789/S. 2083).
- Paid approximately $440,000 to Arnold & Porter, one of Washington’s largest legal firms, to lobby for this legislation. This hefty fee bought the services of several former members of the government working at Arnold & Porter, including firm partner Jack Quinn, former White House counsel, and Jeffrey Connaughton, Quinn’s former special assistant in the counsel’s office
- Paid $100,000 to retain the services of O’Melveny & Myers’s attorneys John Beisner, who has defended Ford Motor Co. in class action suits, and Thomas Donilan, former assistant secretary of state for public affairs under President Clinton. Another $240,000 was spent by CJRG on the firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where CJRG is represented by Robert McConnell.
CJRG was founded in 1994 by former Ford Motor General Counsel John Martin Jr. Its operating committee is chaired by Brad Oelman, a former senior vice president of Owens Corning.
In addition to CJRG, the American Tort Reform Association has spent more than $100,000 in 1998 and 1999 lobbying for changes to the tort system, including the class action bills. Lobbying for ATRA from the firm of Crowell & Moring is Victor Schwartz, a leading lobbyist in support of the products liability bill.
A list of selected businesses behind this legislation and their lobbying budgets is attached. The list is not comprehensive and therefore understates the resources that were dedicated to advancing this legislation. Because lobby disclosure forms filed under the 1995 Lobby Disclosure Act do not have a completely uniform or exact system for reporting which legislation was lobbied on by whom and for how much, it is likely some companies did not detail their involvement in the effort to pass this legislation. Also, since not all reports filed for the first half of 1999 have been made public by the Clerk of the House of Representatives, it is Public Citizen’s estimate that additional substantial sums spent on this campaign will be disclosed later. Finally, lobby expenditures since June 1999, also likely to be substantial, are not due to be reported until February 2000.
Opponents of the Class Action Bill
On the other side of the class action bill is the Clinton administration, the Judicial Conference of the United States (representing federal judges and chaired by Chief Justice William Rehnquist), the Conference of Chief Justices (representing state supreme court judges), 15 state attorneys general, and a diverse coalition of public interest, labor, health, civil rights, disability and tobacco and gun control groups.
In the House, H.R. 1875 was approved in a nearly party-line vote in the Judiciary Committee on Sept. 14. In the Senate, Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch is expected to move the bill later this fall.
Note: All lobbying figures are approximate as lobby disclosure requirements ask registrants to round to the nearest $20,000 income from clients or expenditures for in-house lobbying. Furthermore, registrants do not need to report figures if expenses are estimated to be under $10,000 for any six-month term.
The Corporate Lobbying Campaign in Favor of the Class Action Bills (H.R. 1875/S. 353)
These tables detail funds expended by associations and corporations lobbying for the class action bills in 1998 and the first half 1999. Due to limitations of the lobby disclosure forms, it is impossible to note exactly how much money was spent lobbying for this legislation. An exception to this is the Civil Justice Reform Group, whose primary focus has been hiring lobbyists to work on the class action bills. A select list of corporations and associations which have indicated that staff or hired firms have expended time lobbying on this issue are included.
Civil Justice Reform Group’s $780,000 Campaign
|
Association/ Corporation |
Firm |
Expenditure* |
Notes |
| Civil Justice Reform Group | Self | report not available | Chaired by Brad Oelman, former Senior V-P of Owens Corning |
| Civil Justice Reform Group | Arnold & Porter | $440,000 | Lobbyists hired by CJRG include Jack Quinn, firm partner and former White House Counsel, Jeffrey Connaughton, former Special Assistant to the White House Counsel, and Andrew Bruce, former Legislative Director to Rep. Tim Holden. |
| Civil Justice Reform Group | O’Melveny & Myers LLP | $100,000 | High powered lobbyists hired by CJRG include John Beisner, who has defended Ford Motor Company in class action lawsuits, Arthur Culvahouse Jr., White House Counsel to President Reagan, and Thomas Donilan, former Asst. Secretary of State under President Clinton. |
| Civil Justice Reform Group | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher | $240,000 | Robert McConnell is the principal lobbyist. |
* - Figures are rounded by registrants on their lobby disclosure forms filed to the nearest $20,000.
Corporations and Business Associations Lobbying on H.R. 1875/S. 353
|
Association/ |
Firm |
Expenditure |
Notes |
| Abbot Laboratories | Self | $1.85 million | Pharmaceutical |
| American Council of Life Insurance | Self | $10 million + | Had senior counsel and three vice-presidents lobbying on tort and damages issues. |
| American Tort Reform Association | Self | $60,000 | |
| American Tort Reform Association | Crowell & Moring | $40,000 + | Lobbyist for ATRA is Victor Schwartz, who also served as counsel to the Product Liability Coordinating Committee. |
| Bank of America | Self | $3.9 million | Financial |
| U.S. Chamber of Commerce | Self | $17 million + | Reported 17 lobbyists working on the class action bills alone. |
| Chemical Manufacturers Association | Self | $7 million + | Chemical |
| DaimlerChrysler | Self | $4.24 million | Automotive Manufacturer. Approximately $280,000 was spent retaining the firm Timmons and Company to lobby on several issues, including class action legislation. |
| General Motors | Self | $7.36 million | Automotive Manufacturer. Approximately $80,000 was spent retaining the firm Pepper Hamilton to lobby on the 1998 version of the class action bills and other issues. |
| International Mass Retail Association | Self | $100,000 | Retail |
| New York Life | Self | $1.8 million | Insurance |
| Pfizer | Self | $8 million | Pharmaceutical |
| Philip Morris Mgt. Corp. | Self | $24 million | Tobacco |
| Proctor & Gamble Company | Self | $1.6 million | Pharmaceutical |
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