S.Amdt. 6

SA 6. Mr. CORNYN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 5, to amend the procedures that apply to consideration of interstate class actions to assure fairer outcomes for class members and defendants, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 26, strike line 21, and insert the following:

SEC. 9. CLASS COUNSEL FEES.

Rule 23(h) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is amended--

(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting “The claim shall include the number of hours worked on the case each day by each attorney, paralegal, or other individual, a description of the activities performed each day by each individual, and the standard hourly rate charged for each individual.” after “time set by the court.”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

“(5) Limitation.--

“(A) Definition.--For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘lodestar value' means the amount equal to the number of hours worked on a class action case multiplied by the actual hourly rates customarily charged by lawyers of comparable experience.

“(B) In general.--The court may not award attorney fees in a class action under this subsection in an amount in excess of 400 percent of the lodestar value for such class action.”.

SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE.