Number: RS21815
Title: Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2004 (S. 2290, 108th Congress)
Authors: Henry Cohen, American Law Division 
Abstract: This report provides an overview of S. 2290, 108th Congress, the Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2004 (or FAIR Act of 2004), as introduced by Senator Hatch on April 7, 2004 and placed on the Senate legislative calendar. S. 2290 was a revised version of S. 1125, 108th Congress, as reported by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary (S.Rept. 108-188).1 A cloture vote failed on April 22, 2004, and S. 2290 was never voted on. S. 2290 would have created the Office of Asbestos Disease Compensation, within the Department of Labor, to award damages to asbestos claimants on a no-fault basis. Damages would have been paid by the Asbestos Injury Claims Resolution Fund, which would have been funded by companies that have previously been sued for asbestos-related injuries, and by insurers of such companies. Asbestos claims could no longer have been filed or pursued under state law, except for the enforcement of judgments no longer subject to any appeal or judicial review before the date of enactment of the bill.
Pages: 6
Date: January 21, 2005