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Article: Madison County goes quiet; Class actions halt after federal law, Ill. courts curb forum shopping.(News)

Article from:
Crain's Chicago Business
Article date:
September 11, 2006
Author:
Copyright

Byline: SHRUTI DATE SINGH

The flow of class-action lawsuits to Downstate Madison County, once a magnet for plaintiffs' lawyers from around the country, has come to a virtual halt in the wake of federal legislation and Illinois court rulings aimed at curbing forum-shopping.

Only one class-action case has been authorized in the county so far this year, a stark contrast with 2001 to 2004, when Madison County averaged 81 class-action suits a year. Its busiest year was 2003, when plaintiffs sought 106 class actions there.

Behind the sudden drop: a federal law passed last year that moved jurisdiction for most class actions to the federal courts, and ...

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