the action has been transferred for trial purposes also 
finds, for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and 
in the interests of justice, that the action should be re-
tained for the determination of compensatory damages.’’. 
SEC. 3. MULTIPARTY, MULTIFORUM JURISDICTION OF DIS-
TRICT COURTS. 
(a) BASIS OF JURISDICTION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Chapter 85 of title 28, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 1369. Multiparty, multiforum jurisdiction 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The district courts shall have 
original jurisdiction of any civil action involving minimal 
diversity between adverse parties that arises from a single 
accident, where at least 25 natural persons have either 
died or incurred injury in the accident at a discrete loca-
tion and, in the case of injury, the injury has resulted in 
damages which exceed $75,000 per person, exclusive of in-
terest and costs, if— 
‘‘(1) a defendant resides in a State and a sub-
stantial part of the accident took place in another 
State or other location, regardless of whether that 
defendant is also a resident of the State where a 
substantial part of the accident took place; 
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‘‘(2) any two defendants reside in different 
States, regardless of whether such defendants are 
also residents of the same State or States; or 
‘‘(3) substantial parts of the accident took place 
in different States. 
‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULES AND DEFINITIONS.—For pur-
poses of this section— 
‘‘(1) minimal diversity exists between adverse 
parties if any party is a citizen of a State and any 
adverse party is a citizen of another State, a citizen 
or subject of a foreign state, or a foreign state as 
defined in section 1603(a) of this title; 
‘‘(2) a corporation is deemed to be a citizen of 
any State, and a citizen or subject of any foreign 
state, in which it is incorporated or has its principal 
place of business, and is deemed to be a resident of 
any State in which it is incorporated or licensed to 
do business or is doing business; 
‘‘(3) the term ‘injury’ means— 
‘‘(A) physical harm to a natural person; 
and 
‘‘(B) physical damage to or destruction of 
tangible property, but only if physical harm de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) exists; 
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‘‘(4) the term ‘accident’ means a sudden acci-
dent, or a natural event culminating in an accident, 
that results in death or injury incurred at a discrete 
location by at least 25 natural persons; and 
‘‘(5) the term ‘State’ includes the District of 
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and 
any territory or possession of the United States. 
‘‘(c) INTERVENING PARTIES.—In any action in a dis-
trict court which is or could have been brought, in whole 
or in part, under this section, any person with a claim 
arising from the accident described in subsection (a) shall 
be permitted to intervene as a party plaintiff in the action, 
even if that person could not have brought an action in 
a district court as an original matter. 
‘‘(d) NOTIFICATION OF JUDICIAL PANEL ON MULTI-
DISTRICT LITIGATION.—A district court in which an ac-
tion under this section is pending shall promptly notify 
the judicial panel on multidistrict litigation of the pend-
ency of the action.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 
sections at the beginning of chapter 85 of title 28, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new item: 
‘‘1369. Multiparty, multiforum jurisdiction.’’. 
(b) VENUE.—Section 1391 of title 28, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(g) A civil action in which jurisdiction of the district 
court is based upon section 1369 of this title may be 
brought in any district in which any defendant resides or 
in which a substantial part of the accident giving rise to 
the action took place.’’. 
(c) MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION.—Section 1407 of 
title 28, United States Code, as amended by section 2 of 
this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(j)(1) In actions transferred under this section when 
jurisdiction is or could have been based, in whole or in 
part, on section 1369 of this title, the transferee district 
court may, notwithstanding any other provision of this 
section, retain actions so transferred for the determination 
of liability and punitive damages. An action retained for 
the determination of liability shall be remanded to the dis-
trict court from which the action was transferred, or to 
the State court from which the action was removed, for 
the determination of damages, other than punitive dam-
ages, unless the court finds, for the convenience of parties 
and witnesses and in the interest of justice, that the action 
should be retained for the determination of damages. 
‘‘(2) Any remand under paragraph (1) shall not be 
effective until 60 days after the transferee court has 
issued an order determining liability and has certified its 
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intention to remand some or all of the transferred actions 
for the determination of damages. An appeal with respect 
to the liability determination and the choice of law deter-
mination of the transferee court may be taken during that 
60-day period to the court of appeals with appellate juris-
diction over the transferee court. In the event a party files 
such an appeal, the remand shall not be effective until the 
appeal has been finally disposed of. Once the remand has 
become effective, the liability determination and the choice 
of law determination shall not be subject to further review 
by appeal or otherwise. 
‘‘(3) An appeal with respect to determination of puni-
tive damages by the transferee court may be taken, during 
the 60-day period beginning on the date the order making 
the determination is issued, to the court of appeals with 
jurisdiction over the transferee court. 
‘‘(4) Any decision under this subsection concerning 
remand for the determination of damages shall not be re-
viewable by appeal or otherwise. 
‘‘(5) Nothing in this subsection shall restrict the au-
thority of the transferee court to transfer or dismiss an 
action on the ground of inconvenient forum.’’. 
(d) REMOVAL OF ACTIONS.—Section 1441 of title 28, 
United States Code, is amended— 
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(1) in subsection (e) by striking ‘‘(e) The court 
to which such civil action is removed’’ and inserting 
‘‘(f) The court to which a civil action is removed 
under this section’’; and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(e)(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 
(b) of this section, a defendant in a civil action in a State 
court may remove the action to the district court of the 
United States for the district and division embracing the 
place where the action is pending if— 
‘‘(A) the action could have been brought in a 
United States district court under section 1369 of 
this title; or 
‘‘(B) the defendant is a party to an action 
which is or could have been brought, in whole or in 
part, under section 1369 in a United States district 
court and arises from the same accident as the ac-
tion in State court, even if the action to be removed 
could not have been brought in a district court as 
an original matter. 
The removal of an action under this subsection shall be 
made in accordance with section 1446 of this title, except 
that a notice of removal may also be filed before trial of 
the action in State court within 30 days after the date 
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transferred to another district court, the transferee court 
shall determine the source of the applicable substantive 
law. In making this determination, a district court shall 
not be bound by the choice of law rules of any State, and 
the factors that the court may consider in choosing the 
applicable law include— 
‘‘(1) the place of the injury; 
‘‘(2) the place of the conduct causing the in-
jury; 
‘‘(3) the principal places of business or 
domiciles of the parties; 
‘‘(4) the danger of creating unnecessary incen-
tives for forum shopping; and 
‘‘(5) whether the choice of law would be reason-
ably foreseeable to the parties. 
The factors set forth in paragraphs (1) through (5) shall 
be evaluated according to their relative importance with 
respect to the particular action. If good cause is shown 
in exceptional cases, including constitutional reasons, the 
court may allow the law of more than one State to be ap-
plied with respect to a party, claim, or other element of 
an action. 
‘‘(b) ORDER DESIGNATING CHOICE OF LAW.—The 
district court making the determination under subsection 
(a) shall enter an order designating the single jurisdiction 
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whose substantive law is to be applied in all other actions 
under section 1369 arising from the same accident as that 
giving rise to the action in which the determination is 
made. The substantive law of the designated jurisdiction 
shall be applied to the parties and claims in all such ac-
tions before the court, and to all other elements of each 
action, except where Federal law applies or the order spe-
cifically provides for the application of the law of another 
jurisdiction with respect to a party, claim, or other ele-
ment of an action. 
‘‘(c) CONTINUATION OF CHOICE OF LAW AFTER RE-
MAND.—In an action remanded to another district court 
or a State court under section 1407(j)(1) or 1441(e)(2) 
of this title, the district court’s choice of law under sub-
section (b) shall continue to apply.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 
sections at the beginning of chapter 111 of title 28, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new item: 
‘‘1660. Choice of law in multiparty, multiforum actions.’’. 
(f) SERVICE OF PROCESS.— 
(1) OTHER
THAN
SUBPOENAS.—(A) Chapter 
113 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section: 
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‘‘§ 1697. Service in multiparty, multiforum actions 
‘‘When the jurisdiction of the district court is based 
in whole or in part upon section 1369 of this title, process, 
other than subpoenas, may be served at any place within 
the United States, or anywhere outside the United States 
if otherwise permitted by law.’’. 
(B) The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 113 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new 
item: 
‘‘1697. Service in multiparty, multiforum actions.’’. 
(2) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—(A) Chapter 117 
of title 28, United States Code, is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 1785. Subpoenas in multiparty, multiforum actions 
‘‘When the jurisdiction of the district court is based 
in whole or in part upon section 1369 of this title, a sub-
poena for attendance at a hearing or trial may, if author-
ized by the court upon motion for good cause shown, and 
upon such terms and conditions as the court may impose, 
be served at any place within the United States, or any-
where outside the United States if otherwise permitted by 
law.’’. 
(B) The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 117 of title 28, United States Code, is 
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amended by adding at the end the following new 
item: 
‘‘1785. Subpoenas in multiparty, multiforum actions.’’. 
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
(a) SECTION 2.—The amendments made by section 
2 shall apply to any civil action pending on or brought 
on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) SECTION 3.—The amendments made by section 
3 shall apply to a civil action if the accident giving rise 
to the cause of action occurred on or after the 90th day 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 13, 
1999. 
Attest: 
Clerk. 
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