U.S. Chamber of Commerce, other trade groups urge stricter standard for class actions

Reuters - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other large trade groups are urging a stricter standard for allowing lawsuits to proceed as class actions, saying companies are often pressured to settle meritless claims for millions of dollars.

The groups in amicus briefs filed on Friday asked the 5th U.S. A class that included millions of people in a September lawsuit accusing Boeing Co and Southwest Airlines Co of conspiring to conceal safety problems in Boeing's 737 Max airplanes is referred to as the Circuit Court of Appeals.

The business groups said 95% of the class would not have standing to sue because they never flew on a 737 Max, but the judge wrongly found that those issues could be sorted later on in the case.

The case was seen as a symbol of class actions run amok and highlighted a larger problem with large-scale litigation, according to the National Association of Manufacturers in its brief.

Requiring plaintiffs to prove that they have standing prior to class certification ensures that companies don't have to choose between costly, protracted litigation and large-scale class actions even when they have done nothing wrong, the groups said.

Boeing and Southwest did not respond to requests for comment. Nor did the plaintiffs' lawyers at Capshaw DeRieux and Bathaee Dunne.

Trade group Airlines for America, the conservative Washington Legal Foundation and the business-backed International Association of Defense Counsel also filed briefs on Friday.

The case is Earl v. Boeing Co., 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. For the plaintiffs : Brian Dunne of Bathaee Dunne