HR 554 PCS 
(5) QUALIFIED CIVIL LIABILITY ACTION.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the term ‘‘qualified civil liability ac-
tion’’ means a civil action brought by any per-
son against a manufacturer, marketer, dis-
tributor, 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 accumu-
lated 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 be-
half 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 war-
ranty, provided that the grounds for recov-
HR 554 PCS 
ery being alleged in such action are unre-
lated to a person’s weight gain, obesity, or 
a health condition associated with a per-
son’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 la-
beling of the qualified product with in-
tent for a person to rely on that viola-
tion; 
(II) such person individually and 
justifiably relied on that violation; and 
(III) such reliance was the proxi-
mate 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,
HR 554 PCS 
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 en-
gaged in the business of marketing, distributing, ad-
vertising, 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 as-
sociation’’ means any association or business organi-
zation (whether or not incorporated under Federal 
or State law) that is not operated for profit, and 2 
or more members of which are manufacturers, mar-
keters, distributors, advertisers, or sellers of a quali-
fied 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, market-
ers, distributors, advertisers, sellers, and trade 
associations for claims of injury relating to a per-
son’s weight gain, obesity, or any health condi-
tion 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