Democrats kill bill on class-action reform

A group of Senate Democrats killed an effort yesterday to reform the judicial process governing massive class-action lawsuits that magnificently reward trial lawyers.

“Once again, we have been prevented from dealing with legal reform,” Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, said after the vote.

A handful of Democrats joined Republicans this week in that vigorous lobbying of fellow senators to support the Class Action Reform Act, designed to usher more class-action lawsuits into the federal courts and prevent lawyers from guiding their cases to states where judges and juries are viewed as generous to plaintiffs.

Though they garnered eight Democrats and Sen. James M. Jeffords, a Vermont independent who usually sides with Democrats, the reform effort failed by just one vote.

The 59-39 vote was on a procedural motion to bring the matter to the floor for debate, which requires 60 votes under Senate rules.

Even as the final moments of the vote ticked away, a couple of holdouts — including Mr. Jeffords — hadn’t voted and were grilled by senators on both sides of the issue in the well of the chamber.

In the end, Mr. Jeffords sided with Republicans, and Sen. Mary L. Landrieu, Louisiana Democrat, stuck with her party.

Within moments of defeating the bill, several key Democrats seized the opportunity to offer themselves to become that crucial 60th vote under the right conditions in the near future.

“My vote was not that hard to get,” said Mrs. Landrieu, who added that she deliberately voted last to emphasize that point. “They could have easily gotten me.”

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, Connecticut Democrat, took right to the Senate floor and said he is “committed to class-action reform,” but opposed yesterday’s attempt at it because he hadn’t been more involved in the drafting of the bill.

“It seems to me if you are going to try to put a bill like this together, it takes sitting down,” he said. “It’s hard work.”

Yesterday’s vote prevents the Senate from even discussing the bill.

Mrs. Landrieu noted four specific areas of concern, all of which she acknowledged could be addressed through amendments.

Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican and the bill’s co-sponsor, welcomed such amendments, but noted, “Nothing can be done until we’re allowed to proceed to consider the bill on the merits.”

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