119-hr5437

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5437 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 5437

To prohibit civil actions brought against a manufacturer or seller of a 
 stone slab product for harm resulting from the alteration of such a 
 product by a fabricator, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 September 17, 2025

 Mr. McClintock (for himself and Mr. Biggs of Arizona) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To prohibit civil actions brought against a manufacturer or seller of a 
 stone slab product for harm resulting from the alteration of such a 
 product by a fabricator, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Protection of Lawful Commerce in 
Stone Slab Products Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.

    (a) 

=== Findings ===
-Congress finds the following:

    (1) Civil actions have been commenced against manufacturers 
 and sellers of certain stone slab products, including those 
 used for kitchen countertops and similar applications. These 
 products are not inherently dangerous and upon their 
 manufacture and entry into the stream of commerce, they do not 
 pose an inherent risk of injury to human beings.

    (2) These civil actions seek money damages from 
 manufacturers and sellers by persons who claim personal 
 injuries as a result of exposure to silica dust produced during 
 the alteration of such products in the course of their 
 employment by third-party fabricators. The manufacturers and 
 sellers of these products have no control over these 
 fabricators.

    (3) The alteration of such products is heavily regulated by 
 Federal and State workplace safety laws and regulations, 
 including 

section 1910.1053 of title 29, Code of Federal 
 Regulations, and California Labor Code 

Section 5204, which 
 require a variety of safety measures that fabricators must 
 employ in order to mitigate the risk of potential injuries 
 posed by silica dust. However, some fabricators fail to comply 
 with these requirements and thereby expose their employees and 
 others to the potential harms that these laws and regulations 
 are intended to prevent.

    (4) Businesses located or conducting business in the United 
 States that are engaged in interstate and foreign commerce 
 through the lawful design, manufacture, marketing, 
 distribution, importation, or sale to third-parties of certain 
 stone slab products are not responsible, and should not be held 
 liable, for the alleged injuries caused by those who alter the 
 product in a way that is unsafe or violates Federal and State 
 laws and regulations.

    (5) The possibility of imposing liability on an entire 
 industry for alleged injuries that are solely caused by others 
 is an abuse of the legal system, erodes public confidence in 
 our Nation's laws, invites the disassembly and destabilization 
 of other industries and economic sectors lawfully competing in 
 the free enterprise system of the United States, and 
 constitutes an unreasonable burden on interstate and foreign 
 commerce of the United States.

    (6) A proliferation of frivolous lawsuits against 
 manufacturers and sellers of stone slab products for alleged 
 workplace injuries caused by the actions of third-parties 
 unrelated to and beyond the control of these manufacturers and 
 sellers may further limit access to courts by straining the 
 resources of the legal system and depriving deserving parties 
 of their legitimate rights to relief.

    (b) 

=== Purposes ===
-The purposes of this Act are as follows:

    (1) To prohibit civil actions against manufacturers and 
 sellers of stone slab products for injuries caused by exposure 
 to respirable silica or other substances arising from or 
 relating to the fabrication of such products by third-parties.

    (2) To preserve consumers' access to a supply of stone slab 
 products, to protect manufacturers and sellers from frivolous 
 civil actions alleging liability for such injuries, and to 
 preserve a lawful industry that employs tens of thousands of 
 Americans in several States.

    (3) To prevent the use of such civil actions to impose 
 unreasonable burdens on interstate and foreign commerce.

    (4) To exercise congressional power under article IV, 
 

section 1 of the Constitution (the Full Faith and Credit 
 Clause).

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON BRINGING OF QUALIFIED CIVIL ACTIONS IN FEDERAL 
 OR STATE COURT.

    (a) In General.--A qualified civil action may not be brought in any 
Federal or State court.

    (b) Dismissal of Pending Actions.--A qualified civil action that is 
pending on the date of enactment of this Act shall be dismissed, as 
soon as is practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, by the 
court in which the action is pending.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Fabrication.--The term ``fabrication'' means the 
 process of altering a qualified product by cutting, drilling, 
 shaping, polishing, grinding, or other means.

    (2) Qualified civil action.--The term ``qualified civil 
 action'' means a civil action brought against a manufacturer or 
 seller of a qualified product for injuries arising from or 
 related to the fabrication by another party of a qualified 
 product, including those caused by exposure to respirable 
 silica or other substances.

    (3) Qualified product.--The term ``qualified product'' 
 means a stone slab product, including such a product made with 
 quartz, mineral, crystal, glass, porcelain, or other stone, 
 ceramic or similar material, that has been shipped or 
 transported in interstate or foreign commerce.

    (4) Seller.--The term ``seller'' means an importer, a 
 distributer, a retailer, or a supplier of a qualified product.

    (5) State.--The term ``State'' includes each of the several 
 States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 
 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 
 Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 
 Mariana Islands, and any other territory or possession of the 
 United States, and any political subdivision of any such place.
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