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