II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4095 

To amend title 28, United States Code, to limit the authority of district 

courts to provide injunctive relief, to modify venue requirements relating 

to bankruptcy proceedings, and to ensure that venue in patents cases 

is fair and proper, and for other purposes.. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 10, 2024 

Mr. MCCONNELL (for himself, Mr. COTTON, and Mr. TILLIS) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 28, United States Code, to limit the authority 

of district courts to provide injunctive relief, to modify 

venue requirements relating to bankruptcy proceedings, 

and to ensure that venue in patents cases is fair and 

proper, and for other purposes.. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Helping Outcome 

5 Preferences Act’’ or the ‘‘SHOP Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NATIONWIDE INJUNCTION ABUSE PREVENTION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 85 of title 28, United 

3 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘§ 1370. Limitation on authority to provide injunctive 

6 relief 

7 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a dis8 trict court may not issue any order providing injunctive 

9 relief unless such order is applicable only to— 

10 ‘‘(1) the parties to the case before the court; or 

11 ‘‘(2) similarly situated individuals in the judi12 cial district in which the district court has jurisdic13 tion.’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis 

15 for chapter 84 of title 28, United States Code, is amended 

16 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘1370. Limitation on authority to provide injunctive relief.’’. 

17 SEC. 3. PREVENTING JUDGE SHOPPING. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 131 of title 28, United 

19 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 2075 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘§ 2076. Preventing judge shopping 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Rules promulgated under this 

23 chapter may not permit an attorney to be admitted to 

24 practice in any Federal court if a disciplinary body of 

25 judges properly constituted under the rules and proceVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Apr 19, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4095.IS S4095

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1 dures of a Federal court determines that such attorney 

2 has engaged in judge shopping. 

3 ‘‘(b) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term 

4 ‘judge shopping’ means attempting to interfere with a 

5 court’s case assignment process for the purpose of influ6 encing the assignment of a particular judge to preside over 

7 a particular case by— 

8 ‘‘(1) engaging in ex parte communications with 

9 a judge or a judge’s chambers; 

10 ‘‘(2) successive filing of materially identical 

11 suits within a State, district, or circuit without good 

12 cause; 

13 ‘‘(3) successive filing of materially identical 

14 suits with different plaintiffs; 

15 ‘‘(4) improperly marking a suit as a related 

16 case under existing court docketing practices; or 

17 ‘‘(5) otherwise attempting to change the assign18 ment of a case after its filing, excepting a motion to 

19 recuse.’’. 

20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis 

21 for chapter 131 of title 28, United States Code, is amend22 ed by inserting after the item relating to section 2075 the 

23 following: 

‘‘2076. Preventing judge shopping.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. BANKRUPTCY VENUE REFORM. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Bankruptcy Venue Reform Act of 2024’’. 

4 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) Bankruptcy laws provide a number of venue 

6 options for filing bankruptcy under chapter 11 of 

7 title 11, United States Code, including, with respect 

8 to the entity filing bankruptcy— 

9 (A) any district in which the place of in10 corporation of the entity is located; 

11 (B) any district in which the principal 

12 place of business or principal assets of the enti13 ty are located; and 

14 (C) any district in which an affiliate of the 

15 entity has filed a pending case under title 11, 

16 United States Code. 

17 (2) The wide range of permissible bankruptcy 

18 venue options has led to an increase in companies 

19 filing for bankruptcy outside of the district in which 

20 the principal place of business or principal assets of 

21 the company is located, a practice that is commonly 

22 known as ‘‘forum shopping’’. 

23 (3) Forum shopping— 

24 (A) has resulted in a concentration of 

25 bankruptcy cases in a limited number of judi26 cial districts; 


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1 (B) prevents small businesses, employees, 

2 retirees, creditors, and other important stake3 holders from fully participating in bankruptcy 

4 cases that have tremendous impacts on their 

5 lives, communities, and local economies; and 

6 (C) deprives district courts of the United 

7 States and courts of appeals of the United 

8 States of the opportunity to contribute to the 

9 development of bankruptcy law in the jurisdic10 tions of those district courts. 

11 (4) Reducing the incidence of forum shopping 

12 in the bankruptcy system will strengthen the integ13 rity of, and build public confidence and ensure fair14 ness in, the bankruptcy system. 

15 (c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to pre16 vent the practice of forum shopping in bankruptcy cases 

17 filed under chapter 11 of title 11, United States Code. 

18 (d) VENUE OF CASES UNDER TITLE 11.—Title 28, 

19 United States Code, is amended— 

20 (1) by amending 1408 to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘§ 1408. Venue of cases under title 11 

22 ‘‘(a) PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS WITH RE23 SPECT TO CERTAIN ENTITIES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para25 graph (2), for the purposes of this section, if any enVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Apr 19, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4095.IS S4095

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1 tity is subject to the reporting requirements under 

2 section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act 

3 of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m and 78o(d)), the term 

4 ‘principal place of business’, with respect to such en5 tity, means the address of the principal executive of6 fice of the entity, as stated in the last annual report 

7 filed under such Act before the commencement of a 

8 case under title 11 of which the entity is the subject. 

9 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—With respect to an entity 

10 described in paragraph (1), the definition of ‘prin11 cipal place of business’ shall apply, for purposes of 

12 this section, unless another address is shown, by 

13 clear and convincing evidence, to be the principal 

14 place of business of such entity. 

15 ‘‘(b) VENUE.—Except as provided in section 1410, 

16 a case under title 11 may be commenced only in the dis17 trict court for the district— 

18 ‘‘(1) in which the domicile, residence, or prin19 cipal assets in the United States of an individual 

20 who is the subject of the case have been located— 

21 ‘‘(A) during the 180-day period imme22 diately preceding such commencement; or 

23 ‘‘(B) for a longer portion of such 180-day 

24 period than the domicile, residence, or principal 


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1 assets in the United States of the individual 

2 were located in any other district; 

3 ‘‘(2) in which the principal place of business or 

4 principal assets in the United States of an entity, 

5 other than an individual, that is the subject of the 

6 case have been located— 

7 ‘‘(A) during the 180-day period imme8 diately preceding such commencement; or 

9 ‘‘(B) for a longer portion of such 180-day 

10 period than the principal place of business or 

11 principal assets in the United States of the en12 tity were located in any other district; or 

13 ‘‘(3) in which there is pending a case under 

14 title 11 concerning an affiliate that directly or indi15 rectly owns, controls, or holds 50 percent or more of 

16 the outstanding voting securities of, or is the general 

17 partner of, the entity that is the subject of the later 

18 filed case, but only if the pending case was properly 

19 filed in such district in accordance with this section. 

20 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para22 graphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b), no effect shall 

23 be given to a change in the ownership or control of 

24 an entity that is the subject of the case, or of an af25 filiate of such entity, or to a transfer of the principal 


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1 place of business or principal assets in the United 

2 States, or to the merger, dissolution, spinoff, or divi3 sive merger of an entity that is the subject of the 

4 case, or of an affiliate of such entity, to another dis5 trict, if such event takes place— 

6 ‘‘(A) during the 1-year period immediately 

7 preceding the date on which the case is com8 menced; or 

9 ‘‘(B) for the purpose, in whole or in part, 

10 of establishing venue. 

11 ‘‘(2) PRINCIPAL ASSETS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) PRINCIPAL ASSETS OF AN ENTITY

13 OTHER THAN AN INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of 

14 subsection (b)(2) and paragraph (1) of this sub15 section— 

16 ‘‘(i) the term ‘principal assets’ does 

17 not include cash or cash equivalents; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) any equity interest in an affiliate 

19 is located in the district in which the hold20 er of the equity interest has its principal 

21 place of business in the United States, as 

22 determined in accordance with subsection 

23 (b)(2). 

24 ‘‘(B) EQUITY INTERESTS OF INDIVID25 UALS.—For purposes of subsection (b)(1), if 


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1 the holder of any equity interest in an affiliate 

2 is an individual, the equity interest is located in 

3 the district in which the domicile or residence 

4 in the United States of the holder of the equity 

5 interest is located, as determined in accordance 

6 with subsection (b)(1). 

7 ‘‘(d) BURDEN OF PROOF.—On any objection to, or 

8 request to change, venue under paragraph (2) or (3) of 

9 subsection (b) of a case under title 11, the entity that com10 mences the case shall bear the burden of establishing, by 

11 clear and convincing evidence, that venue is proper under 

12 this section. 

13 ‘‘(e) OUT-OF-STATE ADMISSION FOR GOVERNMENT

14 ATTORNEYS.—The Supreme Court shall prescribe rules, 

15 in accordance with section 2075, for cases or proceedings 

16 arising under title 11, or arising in or related to cases 

17 under title 11, to allow any attorney representing a gov18 ernmental unit to be permitted to appear on behalf of the 

19 governmental unit and intervene without charge, and with20 out meeting any requirement under any local court rule 

21 relating to attorney appearances or the use of local coun22 sel, before any bankruptcy court, district court, or bank23 ruptcy appellate panel.’’; and 

24 (2) to amend section 1412 to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘§ 1412. Change of venue 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding that a case or 

3 proceeding under title 11, or arising in or related to a case 

4 under title 11, is filed in the correct division or district, 

5 a district court may transfer the case or proceeding to a 

6 district court in another district or division— 

7 ‘‘(1) in the interest of justice; or 

8 ‘‘(2) for the convenience of the parties. 

9 ‘‘(b) INCORRECTLY FILED CASES OR PRO10 CEEDINGS.—If a case or proceeding under title 11, or aris11 ing in or related to a case under title 11, is filed in a 

12 division or district that is improper under section 1408(b), 

13 the district court shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) immediately dismiss the case or pro15 ceeding; or 

16 ‘‘(2) if it is in the interest of justice, imme17 diately transfer the case or proceeding to any dis18 trict court for any district or division in which the 

19 case or proceeding could have been brought under 

20 such section. 

21 ‘‘(c) OBJECTIONS AND REQUESTS RELATING TO

22 CHANGES IN VENUE.—Not later than 14 days after the 

23 filing of an objection to, or a request to change, venue 

24 of a case or proceeding under title 11, or arising in or 

25 related to a case under title 11, the court shall enter an 

26 order granting or denying such objection or request.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. VENUE EQUITY IN PATENT CASES. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Venue Equity and Non-Uniformity Elimination Act of 

4 2024’’. 

5 (b) AMENDMENT.—Section 1400(b) of title 28, 

6 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(b) Notwithstanding subsections (b) and (c) of sec8 tion 1391, any civil action for patent infringement or any 

9 action for a declaratory judgment that a patent is invalid 

10 or not infringed may be brought only in a judicial dis11 trict— 

12 ‘‘(1) in which the defendant has its principal 

13 place of business or is incorporated; 

14 ‘‘(2) in which the defendant has committed an 

15 act of infringement of a patent in suit and has a 

16 regular and established physical facility that gives 

17 rise to such act of infringement; 

18 ‘‘(3) in which the defendant has agreed or con19 sented to be sued in such action; 

20 ‘‘(4) in which an inventor named on the patent 

21 in suit conducted research or development that led 

22 to the application for the patent in suit; 

23 ‘‘(5) in which a party has a regular and estab24 lished physical facility that such party controls and 

25 operates, not primarily for the purpose of creating 

26 venue, and has— 


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1 ‘‘(A) engaged in management of significant 

2 research and development of an invention 

3 claimed in a patent in suit before the effective 

4 filing date of the patent; 

5 ‘‘(B) manufactured a tangible product that 

6 is alleged to embody an invention claimed in a 

7 patent in suit; or 

8 ‘‘(C) implemented a manufacturing process 

9 for a tangible good in which the process is al10 leged to embody an invention claimed in a pat11 ent in suit; or 

12 ‘‘(6) in the case of a foreign defendant that 

13 does not meet the requirements of paragraph (1) or 

14 (2), in accordance with section 1391(c)(3).’’. 

15 (c) MANDAMUS RELIEF.—For the purpose of deter16 mining whether relief may issue under section 1651 of title 

17 28, United States Code, a clearly and indisputably erro18 neous denial of a motion under section 1406(a) of such 

19 title to dismiss or transfer a case on the basis of section 

20 1400(b) of such title shall be deemed to cause irremediable 

21 interim harm. 

22 (d) TELEWORKERS.—The dwelling or residence of an 

23 employee or contractor of a defendant who works at such 

24 dwelling or residence shall not constitute a regular and 

25 established physical facility of the defendant for purposes 


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1 of section 1400(b)(2) of title 28, United States Code, as 

2 added by subsection (a). 

Æ 


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