Normally, consumer protection for product liability is provided for by state law. However, documents obtained by the American Association for Justice (AAJ)’s repeated requests pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act revealed a Bush regulatory strategy that has serious implications on consumer protection. The strategy, which the AAJ has termed “Complete Immunity Preemption,” provides for federal rules which preempt the rights states possess to protect their citizens with strict safety standards.
The AAJ reported that the documents obtained reveal that protecting corporations escape accountability has been a top priority of the Bush Administration. Since 2005, 7 federal agencies have issued more than sixty proposed or final rules with preambles containing complete immunity language for corporations. Such language has even snuck into the body of the final rules. The preemption language provides corporations with a new legal theory for immunity in product liability cases.
The AAJ wants to get the word out about these far-reaching preambles, and the danger they pose to consumers.
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