Sunshine in Litigation Act of 2014

[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2364 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2364

   To amend chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, relating to 
     protective orders, sealing of cases, disclosures of discovery 
         information in civil actions, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 20, 2014

Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Mr. Graham, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Whitehouse, and 
  Mr. Markey) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, relating to 
     protective orders, sealing of cases, disclosures of discovery 
         information in civil actions, and for other purposes.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Sunshine in Litigation Act of 
2014''.

SEC. 2. RESTRICTIONS ON PROTECTIVE ORDERS AND SEALING OF CASES AND 
              SETTLEMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1660. Restrictions on protective orders and sealing of cases and 
              settlements
    ``(a)(1) Except as provided under subsection (e), in any civil 
action in which the pleadings state facts that are relevant to the 
protection of public health or safety, a court shall not enter, by 
stipulation or otherwise, an order otherwise authorized under rule 
26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure restricting the 
disclosure of information obtained through discovery, an order 
approving a settlement agreement that would restrict the disclosure of 
such information, or an order restricting access to court records 
unless in connection with such order the court has first made 
independent findings of fact that--
            ``(A) such order would not restrict the disclosure of 
        information which is relevant to the protection of public 
        health or safety; or
            ``(B)(i) the public interest in the disclosure of past, 
        present, or potential health or safety hazards is outweighed by 
        a specific and substantial interest in maintaining the 
        confidentiality of the information or records in question; and
            ``(ii) the requested order is no broader than necessary to 
        protect the confidentiality interest asserted.
    ``(2) No order entered as a result of the operation paragraph (1), 
other than an order approving a settlement agreement, may continue in 
effect after the entry of final judgment, unless at the time of, or 
after, such entry the court makes a separate finding of fact that the 
requirements of paragraph (1) continue to be met.
    ``(3) The party who is the proponent for the entry of an order, as 
provided under this section, shall have the burden of proof in 
obtaining such an order.
    ``(4) This section shall apply even if an order under paragraph (1) 
is requested--
            ``(A) by motion pursuant to rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules 
        of Civil Procedure; or
            ``(B) by application pursuant to the stipulation of the 
        parties.
    ``(5)(A) The provisions of this section shall not constitute 
grounds for the withholding of information in discovery that is 
otherwise discoverable under rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil 
Procedure.
    ``(B) A court shall not approve any party's stipulation or request 
to stipulate to an order that would violate this section.
    ``(b)(1) In any civil action in which the pleadings state facts 
that are relevant to the protection of public health or safety, a court 
shall not approve or enforce any provision of an agreement between or 
among parties, or approve or enforce an order entered as a result of 
the operation of subsection (a)(1), to the extent that such provision 
or such order prohibits or otherwise restricts a party from disclosing 
any information relevant to such civil action to any Federal or State 
agency with authority to enforce laws regulating an activity relating 
to such information.
    ``(2) Any such information disclosed to a Federal or State agency 
shall be confidential to the extent provided by law.
    ``(c)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a court shall not enforce any 
provision of a settlement agreement described under subsection (a)(1) 
between or among parties that prohibits one or more parties from--
            ``(A) disclosing the fact that such settlement was reached 
        or the terms of such settlement, other than the amount of money 
        paid; or
            ``(B) discussing a civil action, or evidence produced in 
        the civil action, that involves matters relevant to the 
        protection of public health or safety.
    ``(2) Paragraph (1) applies unless the court has made independent 
findings of fact that--
            ``(A) the public interest in the disclosure of past, 
        present, or potential public health or safety hazards is 
        outweighed by a specific and substantial interest in 
        maintaining the confidentiality of the information or records 
        in question; and
            ``(B) the requested order is no broader than necessary to 
        protect the confidentiality interest asserted.
    ``(d) When weighing the interest in maintaining confidentiality 
under this section, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the 
interest in protecting personally identifiable information relating to 
financial, health or other similar information of an individual 
outweighs the public interest in disclosure.
    ``(e) Nothing in this section--
            ``(1) shall prohibit a court from entering an order that 
        would restrict the disclosure of information, or an order 
        restricting access to court records, if in either instance such 
        order is necessary to protect from public disclosure--
                    ``(A) information classified under criteria 
                established by an Executive order to be kept secret in 
                the interest of national defense or foreign policy; or
                    ``(B) intelligence sources and methods; or
            ``(2) shall be construed to permit, require, or authorize 
        the disclosure of information that--
                    ``(A) is classified under criteria established by 
                an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of 
                national defense or foreign policy; or
                    ``(B) reveals intelligence sources and methods.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding after 
the item relating to section 1659 the following:

``1660. Restrictions on protective orders and sealing of cases and 
                            settlements.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICATION.

    The amendments made by this Act shall--
            (1) take effect 30 days after the date of enactment of this 
        Act;
            (2) apply only to orders entered in civil actions or 
        agreements entered into on or after the effective date of this 
        Act; and
            (3) not provide a basis for the--
                    (A) granting of a motion to reconsider, modify, 
                amend or vacate a protective order or settlement order 
                entered into before the effective date of this Act; or
                    (B) reversal on appeal of a protective order or 
                settlement order entered into before the effective date 
                of this Act.

Summary: Sunshine in Litigation Act of 2014 - Amends the federal judicial code to prohibit a court, in any civil action in which the pleadings state facts relevant to protecting public health or safety, from entering an order restricting the disclosure of information obtained through discovery, approving a settlement agreement that would restrict such disclosure, or restricting access to court records, subject to exceptions, unless the court has first made independent findings of fact that: (1) the order would not restrict the disclosure of information relevant to the protection of public health or safety or (2) the public interest in the disclosure of past, present, or potential health or safety hazards is outweighed by a specific and substantial interest in maintaining the confidentiality of the information and the requested protective order is no broader than necessary to protect the confidentiality interest asserted. Prohibits a court from approving any party's stipulation or request to stipulate to an order that would violate this Act. Prohibits such a court from: (1) approving or enforcing any provision of an agreement between or among parties, or an order entered under this Act, to the extent that it restricts a party from disclosing information to any federal or state agency with authority to enforce laws regulating an activity relating to such information. Or (2) enforcing any provision of a settlement agreement described under this Act between or among parties to such civil action that prohibits a party from disclosing that a settlement was reached or the terms of the settlement, other than the amount paid, or from discussing the civil action, or evidence produced in it, that involves matters relevant to the protection of public health or safety. Excepts from this enforcement prohibition a settlement agreement provision about which the court finds that the public interest in the disclosure of past, present, or potential health or safety hazards is outweighed by a specific and substantial interest in maintaining the confidentiality of the information or records in question and that the requested protective order is no broader than necessary to protect the confidentiality interest asserted. Creates a rebuttable presumption that the interest in protecting personally identifiable information relating to an individual's financial, health, or other similar information outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to permit, require, or authorize the disclosure of, and no court shall be prohibited from restricting disclosure of or access to: (1) information classified under a secret Executive order concerning national defense or foreign policy, or (2) intelligence sources and methods. Bars this Act from providing a basis for: (1) granting a motion to reconsider, modify, amend, or vacate a protective or settlement order entered before the effective date of this Act, or (2) reversing such an order retroactively on appeal.