RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia residents may soon have more options to recoup money if they’re wronged by a business or other entity, should Gov. Glenn Youngkin sign the bills that will soon arrive on his desk.
These bills would allow class action lawsuits in state courts in Virginia. Currently, only two states — Virginia and Mississippi — don’t allow class action suits in state courts.
Del. Marcus Simon (D-Fairfax), a patron of one of these bills, said the goal is to make it easier and more cost-effective for Virginians to access the courts.
“Somebody who’s been ripped off by a payday lender, maybe to the tune of $500-$1000 — that’s not always going to be enough to get you into court, or hire a lawyer so you can go to court and be compensated,” Simon said. “This allows you guys to get a lawyer, group your claims together, and then have the court hear all your cases together at once and then offer relief for everybody.”
However, not everybody is on board with the idea. Keith Martin with the Virginia Chamber of Commerce testified against the measures at a recent hearing, saying it could hurt small businesses.
“Virginia has consistently been rated one of the best states for business,” Martin said before a House subcommittee. “There are many reasons why that is the case, but one of them is because of our legal climate. We have a very balanced legal climate.”
Simon said his bill would make laws passed in the General Assembly more effective.
“We can say it’s illegal to do this, but if you don’t have an option — a reasonably affordable option, to get your case in front of a judge, then what we do here doesn’t really matter to you,” Simon explained.
8News reached out to Governor Youngkin’s office to see if he intended to sign the bills into law or veto them. A spokesperson provided the following statement: “The Governor will review any legislation that comes to his desk.”
