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Home / Legislative Action Center / Issues - Law & Courts / AWB Applauds US House for Passage of Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act; Urges Senate to Take Action |
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AWB Applauds US House for Passage of Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act; Urges Senate to Take Action |
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Written On: October 28, 2005 |
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OLYMPIA - The Association of Washington Business called upon Washington’s Congressional delegation to support H.R. 420, the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2005.
If passed, H.R. 420 will discourage frivolous lawsuits by reinstating several important provisions to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure changed in 1993. It also adds several new deterrents against baseless claims and addresses the problem of forum shopping.
“We are not interested in precluding anyone with a legitimate claim from suing,” AWB President Don Brunell said. “People who have suffered need compensation—and they need it quickly.” Too often, frivolous lawsuits clog the courts, and people with legitimate claims have to wait unnecessarily. “Right now the penalties for filing frivolous lawsuits are not strong enough and this legislation changes that.”
Provisions of the bill include:
- Make Rule 11 sanctions against attorneys or parties who file frivolous lawsuits mandatory rather than discretionary;
- Remove Rule 11's "safe harbor" provision that currently allows parties and their attorneys to avoid sanctions for making frivolous claims by withdrawing them within 21 days after the filing of a motion for sanctions;
- Allow monetary sanctions, including attorneys’ fees and compensatory costs, against a represented party;
- Extend Rule 11 sanctions to state cases that substantially affect interstate commerce;
- Reduce forum shopping by requiring that a plaintiff in a civil tort action may sue only where he or she lives, where he or she received the injury, where the defendant's principal place of business is located, or, with respect to an individual defendant, where the defendant resides.
AWB thanks Reps. Doc Hastings (R – Tri-Cities), Cathy McMorris (R – Spokane) and Dave Reichert (R – Bellevue) for voting yes on H.R. 420, but criticizes Reps. Jay Inslee, Rick Larsen, Brian Baird, Norm Dicks, Jim McDermott and Adam Smith for voting against it. AWB plans to include the vote in its 2005 Congressional voting record.
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