H.R. 5437

[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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