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Union Calendar No. 75 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 554 

[Report No. 109–130] 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 2, 2005 

Mr. KELLER (for himself, Mr. DELAY, Mr. BLUNT, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. 

SENSENBRENNER, Mr. NEY, Mr. TIBERI, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. GARRETT

of New Jersey, Mr. KENNEDY of Minnesota, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, 

Mr. HENSARLING, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. BROWN of South Carolina, Ms. 

GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, Mr. 

CARTER, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. BACHUS, Mr. PENCE, Mr. SIMPSON, 

Mrs. CUBIN, Mr. AKIN, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. OTTER, Mr. STEARNS, Mr. 

BRADLEY of New Hampshire, Mr. COX, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. FRANKS

of Arizona, Mr. MACK, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. PETRI, Mr. KIRK, Mrs. JO

ANN DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. 

HASTINGS of Washington, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania, and Ms. BERKLEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

JUNE 14, 2005 

Additional sponsors: Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. HALL, Mr. FORTUN ̃O, Mr. 

SHAW, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. KLINE, Mr. JINDAL, Ms. 

HART, Mr. EVERETT, Mr. REGULA, Mr. CANNON, Mr. BAKER, Mr. 

MCCOTTER, Ms. FOXX, Mr. UPTON, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. WILSON of South 

Carolina, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. MCHENRY, Mr. GINGREY, 

Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Ms. HERSETH, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. 

ISSA, Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California, Mr. BONILLA, Mr. 

CHABOT, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. BOUSTANY, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. TERRY, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Mr. 
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SAXTON, Mrs. NORTHUP, Mr. GILLMOR, Mr. COBLE, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. 

SODREL, Mr. PRICE of Georgia, and Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky 

JUNE 14, 2005 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 2, 2005] 

A BILL 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Personal Responsibility 

5 in Food Consumption Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the food and beverage industries are a sig9 nificant part of our national economy; 

10 (2) the activities of manufacturers and sellers of 

11 foods and beverages substantially affect interstate and 

12 foreign commerce; 
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1 (3) a person’s weight gain, obesity, or a health 

2 condition associated with a person’s weight gain or 

3 obesity is based on a multitude of factors, including 

4 genetic factors and the lifestyle and physical fitness 

5 decisions of individuals, such that a person’s weight 

6 gain, obesity, or a health condition associated with a 

7 person’s weight gain or obesity cannot be attributed 

8 to the consumption of any specific food or beverage; 

9 and 

10 (4) because fostering a culture of acceptance of 

11 personal responsibility is one of the most important 

12 ways to promote a healthier society, lawsuits seeking 

13 to blame individual food and beverage providers for 

14 a person’s weight gain, obesity, or a health condition 

15 associated with a person’s weight gain or obesity are 

16 not only legally frivolous and economically damaging, 

17 but also harmful to a healthy America. 

18 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to allow 

19 Congress and regulatory agencies to determine appropriate 

20 laws, rules, and regulations to address the problems of 

21 weight gain, obesity, and health conditions associated with 

22 weight gain or obesity. 

23 SEC. 3. PRESERVATION OF SEPARATION OF POWERS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—A qualified civil liability action 

25 may not be brought in any Federal or State court. 
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1 (b) DISMISSAL OF PENDING ACTIONS.—A qualified 

2 civil liability action that is pending on the date of the en3 actment of this Act shall be dismissed immediately by the 

4 court in which the action was brought or is currently pend5 ing. 

6 (c) DISCOVERY.— 

7 (1) STAY.—In any action that is allegedly of the 

8 type described in section 4(5)(B) seeking to impose li9 ability of any kind based on accumulative acts of con10 sumption of a qualified product, the obligation of any 

11 party or non-party to make disclosures of any kind 

12 under any applicable rule or order, or to respond to 

13 discovery requests of any kind, as well as all pro14 ceedings unrelated to a motion to dismiss, shall be 

15 stayed prior to the time for filing a motion to dismiss 

16 and during the pendency of any such motion, unless 

17 the court finds upon motion of any party that a re18 sponse to a particularized discovery request is nec19 essary to preserve evidence or to prevent undue preju20 dice to that party. 

21 (2) RESPONSIBILITY OF PARTIES.—During the 

22 pendency of any stay of discovery under paragraph 

23 (1), the responsibilities of the parties with regard to 

24 the treatment of all documents, data compilations (in25 cluding electronically recorded or stored data), and 
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1 tangible objects shall be governed by applicable Fed2 eral or State rules of civil procedure. A party ag3 grieved by the failure of an opposing party to comply 

4 with this paragraph shall have the applicable rem5 edies made available by such applicable rules, pro6 vided that no remedy shall be afforded that conflicts 

7 with the terms of paragraph (1). 

8 (d) PLEADINGS.—In any action that is allegedly of the 

9 type described in section 4(5)(B) seeking to impose liability 

10 of any kind based on accumulative acts of consumption of 

11 a qualified product, the complaint initiating such action 

12 shall state with particularity— 

13 (1) each element of the cause of action; 

14 (2) the Federal and State statutes or other laws 

15 that were allegedly violated; 

16 (3) the specific facts alleged to constitute the 

17 claimed violation of law; and 

18 (4) the specific facts alleged to have caused the 

19 claimed injury. 

20 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—No provision of this 

21 Act shall be construed to create a public or private cause 

22 of action or remedy. 

23 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 
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1 (1) ENGAGED IN THE BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘en2 gaged in the business’’ means a person who manufac3 tures, markets, distributes, advertises, or sells a quali4 fied product in the person’s regular course of trade or 

5 business. 

6 (2) MANUFACTURER.—The term ‘‘manufacturer’’ 

7 means, with respect to a qualified product, a person 

8 who is lawfully engaged in the business of manufac9 turing the product. 

10 (3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means any in11 dividual, corporation, company, association, firm, 

12 partnership, society, joint stock company, or any 

13 other entity, including any governmental entity. 

14 (4) QUALIFIED PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘qualified 

15 product’’ means a food (as defined in section 201(f) 

16 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 

17 U.S.C. 321(f))). 

18 (5) QUALIFIED CIVIL LIABILITY ACTION.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph 

20 (B), the term ‘‘qualified civil liability action’’ 

21 means a civil action brought by any person 

22 against a manufacturer, marketer, distributor, 

23 advertiser, or seller of a qualified product, or a 

24 trade association, for damages, penalties, declar25 atory judgment, injunctive or declaratory relief, 
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1 restitution, or other relief arising out of, or re2 lated to a person’s accumulated acts of consump3 tion of a qualified product and weight gain, obe4 sity, or a health condition that is associated with 

5 a person’s weight gain or obesity, including an 

6 action brought by a person other than the person 

7 on whose weight gain, obesity, or health condi8 tion the action is based, and any derivative ac9 tion brought by or on behalf of any person or 

10 any representative, spouse, parent, child, or other 

11 relative of that person. 

12 (B) EXCEPTION.—A qualified civil liability 

13 action shall not include— 

14 (i) an action based on allegations of 

15 breach of express contract or express war16 ranty, provided that the grounds for recov17 ery being alleged in such action are unre18 lated to a person’s weight gain, obesity, or 

19 a health condition associated with a per20 son’s weight gain or obesity; 

21 (ii) an action based on allegations 

22 that— 

23 (I) a manufacturer or seller of a 

24 qualified product knowingly violated a 

25 Federal or State statute applicable to 
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1 the marketing, advertisement, or label2 ing of the qualified product with intent 

3 for a person to rely on that violation; 

4 (II) such person individually and 

5 justifiably relied on that violation; and 

6 (III) such reliance was the proxi7 mate cause of injury related to that 

8 person’s weight gain, obesity, or a 

9 health condition associated with that 

10 person’s weight gain or obesity; or 

11 (iii) an action brought by the Federal 

12 Trade Commission under the Federal Trade 

13 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) or by 

14 the Federal Food and Drug Administration 

15 under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cos16 metic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.). 

17 (6) SELLER.—The term ‘‘seller’’ means, with re18 spect to a qualified product, a person lawfully en19 gaged in the business of marketing, distributing, ad20 vertising, or selling a qualified product. 

21 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ includes each of 

22 the several States of the United States, the District of 

23 Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Vir24 gin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Com25 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any 
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1 other territory or possession of the United States, and 

2 any political subdivision of any such place. 

3 (8) TRADE ASSOCIATION.—The term ‘‘trade asso4 ciation’’ means any association or business organiza5 tion (whether or not incorporated under Federal or 

6 State law) that is not operated for profit, and 2 or 

7 more members of which are manufacturers, marketers, 

8 distributors, advertisers, or sellers of a qualified prod9 uct. 
Union Calendar No. 75 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 554 

[Report No. 109–130] 

A BILL 

To prevent legislative and regulatory functions from 

tion associated with weight gain or obesity. son’s weight gain, obesity, or any health condiassociations for claims of injury relating to a perers, distributors, advertisers, sellers, and trade continued against food manufacturers, marketbeing usurped by civil liability actions brought or 

JUNE 14, 2005 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,