Virginia Class Action Bill Vetoed By Governor

On May 29, 2026, Governor Abigail Spanberger vetoed Virginia’s closely watched class action legislation, preserving Virginia’s status as one of only two states in the country (the other one being Mississippi) without a general state-court class action procedure. The veto halts what would have been a major shift in Virginia civil litigation and consumer protection law.

As discussed in our prior blog, Senate Bill 229 and House Bill 449 would have created a comprehensive framework for class action litigation in Virginia state courts modeled in significant part on Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. The legislation also would have expanded the availability of classwide relief under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act and likely would have made Virginia state courts a substantially more attractive forum for consumer, privacy, and other aggregate litigation. Business groups and tort reform organizations strongly opposed the legislation, warning that it would increase litigation costs, encourage forum shopping, and expose businesses to potentially massive statutory damage awards.

Governor Spanberger previously attempted to narrow the legislation through substitute amendments. Among other things, her proposed amendments would have limited venue for class actions to certain regional circuit courts and would have provided courts with enhanced summary judgment authority designed to dispose of meritless claims earlier in the litigation process. The General Assembly rejected those amendments and returned the original legislation to the Governor.

In her veto explanation, Governor Spanberger stated:

“I support the General Assembly’s goal of providing a class action mechanism that can be used by plaintiffs in Virginia courts. I offered amendments to ensure that when Virginia adopts its first-ever class action procedure, we do so in a tailored and judicious way — building on longstanding, federal precedent while providing regional circuit courts an opportunity to develop expertise. The General Assembly did not accept these amendments.”

The veto represents a significant victory for the Virginia business community and organizations that argued the legislation would fundamentally alter the Commonwealth’s historically business-friendly litigation environment. Industry groups including the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the American Tort Reform Association, and insurance industry organizations urged the Governor to reject the bill.

For now, consumer plaintiffs seeking to pursue class claims involving alleged violations of Virginia state law generally will be able to file in federal district court only in those limited situations permitted under the Class Action Fairness Act or where there is “diversity of citizenship.” The veto also avoids, at least temporarily, what many observers expected would have been a substantial increase in state-court consumer class action litigation in Virginia.

Given the strong support for the legislation among consumer advocates and Democratic legislative leaders, however, this issue is unlikely to disappear. Supporters of the legislation have already indicated that they intend to revisit class action legislation in future sessions of the General Assembly.

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