[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 554 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]
Calendar No. 254
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 554
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 20, 2005
Received; read the first time
October 21, 2005
Read the second time and placed on the calendar
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To prevent legislative and regulatory functions from being usurped by
civil liability actions brought or continued against food
manufacturers, marketers, distributors, advertisers, sellers, and trade
associations for claims of injury relating to a person's weight gain,
obesity, or any health condition associated with weight gain or
obesity.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Personal Responsibility in Food
Consumption Act of 2005''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) the food and beverage industries are a significant part
of our national economy;
(2) the activities of manufacturers and sellers of foods
and beverages substantially affect interstate and foreign
commerce;
(3) a person's weight gain, obesity, or a health condition
associated with a person's weight gain or obesity is based on a
multitude of factors, including genetic factors and the
lifestyle and physical fitness decisions of individuals, such
that a person's weight gain, obesity, or a health condition
associated with a person's weight gain or obesity cannot be
attributed to the consumption of any specific food or beverage;
and
(4) because fostering a culture of acceptance of personal
responsibility is one of the most important ways to promote a
healthier society, lawsuits seeking to blame individual food
and beverage providers for a person's weight gain, obesity, or
a health condition associated with a person's weight gain or
obesity are not only legally frivolous and economically
damaging, but also harmful to a healthy America.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to allow Congress and
regulatory agencies to determine appropriate laws, rules, and
regulations to address the problems of weight gain, obesity, and health
conditions associated with weight gain or obesity.
SEC. 3. PRESERVATION OF SEPARATION OF POWERS.
(a) In General.--A qualified civil liability action may not be
brought in any Federal or State court.
(b) Dismissal of Pending Actions.--A qualified civil liability
action that is pending on the date of the enactment of this Act shall
be dismissed immediately by the court in which the action was brought
or is currently pending.
(c) Discovery.--
(1) Stay.--In any action that is allegedly of the type
described in section 4(5) seeking to impose liability of any
kind based on accumulative acts of consumption of a qualified
product, the obligation of any party or non-party to make
disclosures of any kind under any applicable rule or order, or
to respond to discovery requests of any kind, as well as all
proceedings unrelated to a motion to dismiss, shall be stayed
prior to the time for filing a motion to dismiss and during the
pendency of any such motion, unless the court finds upon motion
of any party that a response to a particularized discovery
request is necessary to preserve evidence or to prevent undue
prejudice to that party.
(2) Responsibility of parties.--During the pendency of any
stay of discovery under paragraph (1), the responsibilities of
the parties with regard to the treatment of all documents, data
compilations (including electronically recorded or stored
data), and tangible objects shall be governed by applicable
Federal or State rules of civil procedure. A party aggrieved by
the failure of an opposing party to comply with this paragraph
shall have the applicable remedies made available by such
applicable rules, provided that no remedy shall be afforded
that conflicts with the terms of paragraph (1).
(d) Pleadings.--In any action that is allegedly of the type
described in section 4(5) seeking to impose liability of any kind based
on accumulative acts of consumption of a qualified product, the
complaint initiating such action shall state with particularity for
each defendant and cause of action--
(1) each element of the cause of action and the specific
facts alleged to satisfy each element of the cause of action;
(2) the Federal and State statutes or other laws that
allegedly create the cause of action; and
(3) the section 4(5)(B) exception being relied upon and the
specific facts that allegedly satisfy the requirements of that
exception.
(e) Rule of Construction.--No provision of this Act shall be
construed to create a public or private cause of action or remedy.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Engaged in the business.--The term ``engaged in the
business'' means a person who manufactures, markets,
distributes, advertises, or sells a qualified product in the
person's regular course of trade or business.
(2) Manufacturer.--The term ``manufacturer'' means, with
respect to a qualified product, a person who is lawfully
engaged in the business of manufacturing the product.
(3) Person.--The term ``person'' means any individual,
corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society,
joint stock company, or any other entity, including any
governmental entity.
(4) Qualified product.--The term ``qualified product''
means a food (as defined in section 201(f) of the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321(f))).
(5) Qualified civil liability action.--
(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the
term ``qualified civil liability action'' means a civil
action brought by any person against a manufacturer,
marketer, distributor, advertiser, or seller of a
qualified product, or a trade association, for damages,
penalties, declaratory judgment, injunctive or
declaratory relief, restitution, or other relief
arising out of, or related to a person's accumulated
acts of consumption of a qualified product and weight
gain, obesity, or a health condition that is associated
with a person's weight gain or obesity, including an
action brought by a person other than the person on
whose weight gain, obesity, or health condition the
action is based, and any derivative action brought by
or on behalf of any person or any representative,
spouse, parent, child, or other relative of that
person.
(B) Exception.--A qualified civil liability action
shall not include--
(i) an action based on allegations of
breach of express contract or express warranty,
provided that the grounds for recovery being
alleged in such action are unrelated to a
person's weight gain, obesity, or a health
condition associated with a person's weight
gain or obesity;
(ii) an action based on allegations that--
(I) a manufacturer or seller of a
qualified product knowingly violated a
Federal or State statute applicable to
the marketing, advertisement, or
labeling of the qualified product with
intent for a person to rely on that
violation;
(II) such person individually and
justifiably relied on that violation;
and
(III) such reliance was the
proximate cause of injury related to
that person's weight gain, obesity, or
a health condition associated with that
person's weight gain or obesity; or
(iii) an action brought by the Federal
Trade Commission under the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) or by the
Federal Food and Drug Administration under the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C.
301 et seq.).
(6) Seller.--The term ``seller'' means, with respect to a
qualified product, a person lawfully engaged in the business of
marketing, distributing, advertising, or selling a qualified
product.
(7) State.--The term ``State'' includes each of the several
States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American
Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,
and any other territory or possession of the United States, and
any political subdivision of any such place.
(8) Trade association.--The term ``trade association''
means any association or business organization (whether or not
incorporated under Federal or State law) that is not operated
for profit, and 2 or more members of which are manufacturers,
marketers, distributors, advertisers, or sellers of a qualified
product.
Passed the House of Representatives October 19, 2005.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.
Calendar No. 254
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 554
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To prevent legislative and regulatory functions from being usurped by
civil liability actions brought or continued against food
manufacturers, marketers, distributors, advertisers, sellers, and trade
associations for claims of injury relating to a person's weight gain,
obesity, or any health condition associated with weight gain or
obesity.
_______________________________________________________________________
October 20, 2005
Received; read the first time
October 21, 2005
Read the second time and placed on the calendar