MN GOP Slashes Consumer Protections

Press release from DFL:
Meeting in a rare Saturday session, Republicans in the Minnesota Senate voted today to strip consumers and small businesses of their ability to seek justice. State Sen. Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park, said the legislation approved today takes away the ability of consumers to join together to take on big corporations, and tilts the legal playing field in favor of big special interests. The bill, S.F. 149, sponsored by Sen. Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhassen, aims to take away Minnesotans' ability to join class-action lawsuits against corporations that have harmed consumers through fraud or negligence. The bill sets up impossible hurdles for consumers that seek to hold corporations accountable through a class-action suit, forcing each individual member joining the suit to go through the lengthy and complicated process of proving exact out-of-pocket loss in court before joining the suit. "Class-action suits play a crucial role in protecting consumers by holding corporations accountable for fraudulent and negligent actions," said Sen. Latz. "This bill creates an undue burden on the courts by forcing each victim to establish monetary loss in court, making it virtually impossible for consumers to seek justice and ultimately defeats the purpose of having consumer protection class action lawsuits in Minnesota." Sen. Latz said the bill is part of a nation-wide effort to weaken consumer rights, led by big insurance and big business special interests through the American Legislative
Exchange Council (ALEC). Minnesota's legislators are introducing cookie-cutter bills written in D.C. and claiming them as their own. "This bill makes it perfectly clear that Minnesota Republicans choose to protect big business and insurance companies rather than defend the rights of Minnesotans," said Sen. Latz. "Republicans make the wrong choice. Across the country, we see Republican legislatures teaming up with big business and insurance companies to trample the rights of consumers. Even in Minnesota, this bill is just one of many Republican bills that will hurt consumers while protecting large corporate interests."

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Ron Latz
• Julianne Ortman
• Chanhassen
• ALEC
• Fraud
• Consumers

[DavidEdwardSchnell]

some pirates never get a lawyer. Cohen is humane enough try and help, but at some point you have to realize troops are still in AF and Iraq and need to get out sooner than later.

[justonefirefly1]

@astraia1x Amen - they want dearly to take away everything from the American People - They want to take awy their voting rights and give them to corporations only - they want to sell all our natural resources at a cheap price to their "friends" and they call that privitization. They scream about socialism like it is something bad and all they while they steal and cheat and rape.

[astraia1x]

@justonefirefly1

it's infuriating, isn't it? the gop goes out of its way to protect corporations. why people have not figured this out yet is beyond me.

[astraia1x]

it's "burdensome" because the GOP does not want corporations to be responsible for ANY harmful action they take. obviously, the GOP considers corporations to be their constituents rather than We The People.

[justonefirefly1]

Fuck the anti american GREEDY OLD PIECES OF SHIT SCUMBAGS

VOTE THE FUCKERS OUT

DIDN'T THEY DO ENOUGH BY KILLING 5000 AMERICANSIN AN ILLEGAL WAR TO "GIT BIN LADEN" THE FUCKERS THEN ADDED 3 TRILLION TO OUR DEBT WITH THEIR FUCKING WAR SO THAT THEIR STOCKS IN DEFENSE COULD GO UP - THIS CUNT WHORE IS A PIECE OF SHIT. SHUT THE FUCK UP CUNT

[rickbar123]

Get rid of those consumer protections !!!! Screw the consumer !!!! Who the hell does the consumer think he or she is ????

The GOP !!!! Always looking out for the little guy.