WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. President Bush Friday signed into law the 2005 tort reform bill, declaring it an important step forward in addressing head-on the tough issues.
Bush said the class-action suit reform bill "marks a critical step toward ending the lawsuit culture in our country." The bill was approved Thursday, 279-149, as businesses finally saw success after a decade of efforts to reduce their legal liability from cases where a single person or a small group can represent the interests in court of many thousands of people.
Tort reform was one of Bush's top domestic agenda items in his second term. Speaking from the East Room of the White House, Bush said the bill meets his vow to "solve problems now and not to pass them on to future generations."
Trial attorneys and consumer rights groups, however, charge the bill protects business interests at the expense of consumers.
Bush said Friday class action lawsuits are an important part of the U.S. legal system and the bill "maintains every victim's right to seek justice and assures that wrongdoers are held to account."
He said, however, the system had become corrupted.
"This bill helps fix the system," he said.
