Sec. 143. Procedures for suit in district courts of the United States
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/bill/116/s/4537/is/section-143A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
In any coronavirus-related action filed in or removed to a district court of the United States— the complaint shall plead with particularity— each element of the plaintiff’s claim; and with respect to a coronavirus exposure action, all places and persons visited by the person on whose behalf the complaint was filed and all persons who visited the residence of the person on whose behalf the complaint was filed during the 14-day period before the onset of the first symptoms allegedly caused by coronavirus, including— each individual or entity against which a complaint is filed, along with the factual basis for the belief that such individual or entity was a cause of the personal injury alleged; and every other person or place visited by the person on whose behalf the complaint was filed and every other person who visited the residence of the person on whose behalf the complaint was filed during such period, along with the factual basis for the belief that these persons and places were not the cause of the personal injury alleged; and the complaint shall plead with particularity each alleged act or omission constituting gross negligence or willful misconduct that resulted in personal injury, harm, damage, breach, or tort.
In any coronavirus-related action filed in or removed to a district court of the United States in which monetary damages are requested, there shall be filed with the complaint a statement of specific information as to the nature and amount of each element of damages and the factual basis for the damages calculation. In any coronavirus-related action filed in or removed to a district court of the United States in which a claim is asserted on which the plaintiff may prevail only on proof that the defendant acted with a particular state of mind, there shall be filed with the complaint, with respect to each element of that claim, a statement of the facts giving rise to a strong inference that the defendant acted with the required state of mind.
The complaint in a coronavirus-related action filed in or removed to a district court of the United States shall include a verification, made by affidavit of the plaintiff under oath, stating that the pleading is true to the knowledge of the deponent, except as to matters specifically identified as being alleged on information and belief, and that as to those matters the plaintiff believes it to be true. Any matter that is not specifically identified as being alleged upon the information and belief of the plaintiff, shall be regarded for all purposes, including a criminal prosecution, as having been made upon the knowledge of the plaintiff.
In any coronavirus-related action filed in or removed to a district court of the United States, the plaintiff shall file with the complaint— an affidavit by a physician or other qualified medical expert who did not treat the person on whose behalf the complaint was filed that explains the basis for such physician’s or other qualified medical expert’s belief that such person suffered the personal injury, harm, damage, breach, or tort alleged in the complaint; and certified medical records documenting the alleged personal injury, harm, damage, breach, or tort.
This section applies exclusively to any coronavirus-related action filed in or removed to a district court of the United States and, except to the extent that this section requires additional information to be contained in or attached to pleadings, nothing in this section is intended to amend or otherwise supersede applicable rules of Federal civil procedure. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any coronavirus-related action filed in or removed to a district court of the United States, no discovery shall be allowed before— the time has expired for the defendant to answer or file a motion to dismiss; and if a motion to dismiss is filed, the court has ruled on the motion.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court in any coronavirus-related action that is filed in or removed to a district court of the United States— shall permit discovery only with respect to matters directly related to material issues contested in the coronavirus-related action; and may compel a response to a discovery request (including a request for admission, an interrogatory, a request for production of documents, or any other form of discovery request) under rule 37 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, only if the court finds that— the requesting party needs the information sought to prove or defend as to a material issue contested in such action; and the likely benefits of a response to such request equal or exceed the burden or cost for the responding party of providing such response.
The courts of appeals of the United States shall have jurisdiction of an appeal from a motion to dismiss that is denied in any coronavirus-related action in a district court of the United States. The district court shall stay all discovery in such a coronavirus-related action until the court of appeals has disposed of the appeal. In any coronavirus-related action that is filed in or removed to a district court of the United States and is maintained as a class action or multidistrict litigation— an individual or entity shall only be a member of the class if the individual or entity affirmatively elects to be a member; and the court, in addition to any other notice required by applicable Federal or State law, shall direct notice of the action to each member of the class, which shall include— a concise and clear description of the nature of the action; the jurisdiction where the case is pending; and the fee arrangements with class counsel, including— the hourly fee being charged; or if it is a contingency fee, the percentage of the final award which will be paid, including an estimate of the total amount that would be paid if the requested damages were to be granted; and if the cost of the litigation is being financed, a description of the financing arrangement.
In any coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings conducted pursuant to section 1407(b) of title 28, United States Code, the judge or judges to whom coronavirus-related actions are assigned by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation may not conduct a trial in a coronavirus-related action transferred to or directly filed in the proceedings unless all parties to that coronavirus-related action consent. The court of appeals of the United States having jurisdiction over the transferee district court shall permit an appeal to be taken from any order issued in the conduct of coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings conducted pursuant to section 1407(b) of title 28, United States Code, if the order is applicable to 1 or more coronavirus-related actions and an immediate appeal from the order may materially advance the ultimate termination of 1 or more coronavirus-related actions in the proceedings.