Title: Federal Courts Access Act of 2019
Policy area: Law

Summary:
Federal Courts Access Act of 2019
This bill revises the statutory requirements for federal court jurisdiction in cases involving diversity of citizenship.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 297 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 297

    To amend title 28, United States Code, to modify the amount in 
 controversy requirement and remove the complete diversity requirement.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 31, 2019

    Mr. Lee introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend title 28, United States Code, to modify the amount in 
 controversy requirement and remove the complete diversity requirement.

    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 ``Federal Courts Access Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are to--
            (1) assure fairer and more efficient civil litigation and 
        prompt recoveries for claimants and defendants;
            (2) enhance the integrity of the legal system of the United 
        States by diminishing abuses in the civil litigation system; 
        and
            (3) restore the intent of the framers of the Constitution 
        of the United States by ensuring Federal court consideration of 
        major controversies, consistent with diversity jurisdiction 
        principles.

SEC. 3. DIVERSITY OF CITIZENSHIP; AMOUNT IN CONTROVERSY.

    (a) In General.--Section 1332 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                striking ``$75,000'' and inserting ``$125,000''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``not less than 
                1 plaintiff and 1 defendant who are'' before ``citizens 
                of different States'';
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``$75,000'' and 
        inserting ``$125,000''; and
            (3) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``$5,000,000'' 
                and inserting ``$125,000'';
                    (B) by striking paragraphs (3) and (4);
                    (C) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through (10) as 
                paragraphs (3) through (8), respectively;
                    (D) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated, by 
                striking ``Paragraphs (2) through (4)'' and inserting 
                ``Paragraph (2)'';
                    (E) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated, by 
                striking ``$5,000,000'' and inserting ``$125,000'';
                    (F) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated, by 
                striking ``(2) through (6)'' and inserting ``(2) 
                through (4)'';
                    (G) in paragraph (7)(A), as so redesignated--
                            (i) by inserting ``section'' after 
                        ``defined under''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``(15 U.S.C. 78p(f)(3))'' 
                        and inserting ``(15 U.S.C. 77p(f)(3))''; and
                    (H) by striking paragraph (11).
    (b) Removal of Civil Actions.--
            (1) In general.--Section 1441(b)(2) of title 28, United 
        States Code, is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``if any'' and inserting ``if 
                all''; and
                    (B) by striking ``is a citizen'' and inserting 
                ``are citizens''.
            (2) Procedure for removal of civil actions.--Section 1446 
        of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (c)--
                            (i) by striking ``(1) A case'' and all that 
                        follows through ``(2) If'' and inserting ``(1) 
                        If'';
                            (ii) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 
                        paragraph (2); and
                            (iii) in paragraph (2), as so 
                        redesignated--
                                    (I) by striking ``(A) If'' and 
                                inserting ``If''; and
                                    (II) by striking subparagraph (B); 
                                and
                    (B) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection 
                (f).
            (3) Removal of class actions.--Section 1453 of title 28, 
        United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (b) and 
        inserting the following:
    ``(b) Removal Generally.--A class action may be removed to a 
district court of the United States in accordance with section 1446, 
except that such action may be removed by any defendant without the 
consent of all defendants.''.
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