(2/18/2005) - The so-called Class Action Fairness Act will move large multistate class-action lawsuits out of state courts and into federal courts. The House voted 279-149 yesterday in favor of the bill following a brief debate. The bill passed the Senate 72-26 last week. While Republicans hail the bill as legal reform, consumer advocates have said the bill will only serve to help corporations escape multimillion-dollar verdicts from state courts. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., CA) called the legislation “a payback to big business at the expense of consumers.”