September 14, 2004—Today U.S. Representative Trent Franks, an original cosponsor, voted in support of H.R. 4571, The Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act (LARA).  LARA passed the House with a vote of 229 to 174.

“Increased litigation costs have burdened American families, doctors and businesses with higher insurance premiums, reduced incentives for new technologies, and have severely damaged free market endeavors,” Franks said. “Businesses have been forced to delay, or abandon altogether, research and development projects due to liability concerns, and lawsuit abuse has held America’s businesses hostage for far too long.”

The Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act:

·     Restores mandatory sanctions for filing frivolous lawsuits in violation of Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, requiring monetary sanctions against any party making a frivolous claim, including attorneys’ fees and compensatory costs;

·     Abolishes Rule 11's current “free pass” provision which allows lawyers to avoid sanctions for making frivolous claims by simply withdrawing frivolous claims within 21 days after a motion for sanctions has been filed;

·     Restores the opportunity for sanctions for abuses of the discovery process (the process by which lawyers on each side of a case request information from the other side prior to trial);

·     Allows Rule 11's provisions preventing frivolous lawsuits to apply to state cases in which a state judge finds the case affects interstate commerce by threatening jobs and economic losses to other states; and

·     Prevents “forum shopping” (the notorious practice by which personal injury attorneys cherry-pick courts and bring lawsuits in jurisdictions that consistently hand down astronomical awards, even when the case has little or no connection to the state or locality) by requiring that personal injury cases be brought only 1) where the plaintiff resides, 2) where the plaintiff was allegedly injured, or 3) where the defendant’s principal place of business is located.

“Every American has been paying the price for outrageous claims.  Ultimately legitimate lawsuits have been delayed and, through higher product and service prices, the overall economic growth of our country has been slowed.  Today’s much-needed action marks the beginning of the end of this injustice.”