I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1053 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2017 

Mr. NADLER introduced the following bill; which was 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. 

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 TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sunshine in Litigation 

5 Act of 2017’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. RESTRICTIONS ON PROTECTIVE ORDERS AND SEAL2 ING OF CASES AND SETTLEMENTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 111 of title 28, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘§ 1660. Restrictions on protective orders and sealing 

7 of cases and settlements 

8 ‘‘(a)(1) In any civil action in which the pleadings 

9 state facts that are relevant to the protection of public 

10 health or safety, a court shall not enter, by stipulation or 

11 otherwise, an order otherwise authorized under rule 26(c) 

12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure restricting the dis13 closure of information obtained through discovery, an 

14 order otherwise authorized approving a settlement agree15 ment that would restrict the disclosure of such informa16 tion, or an order otherwise authorized restricting access 

17 to court records unless in connection with such order the 

18 court has first made independent findings of fact that— 

19 ‘‘(A) such order would not restrict the disclo20 sure of information which is relevant to the protec21 tion of public health or safety; or 

22 ‘‘(B)(i) the public interest in the disclosure of 

23 past, present, or potential public health or safety 

24 hazards is outweighed by a specific and substantial 

25 interest in maintaining the confidentiality of the in26 formation or records in question; and 

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1 ‘‘(ii) the requested order is no broader than 

2 necessary to protect the confidentiality interest as3 serted. 

4 ‘‘(2) No order entered as a result of the operation 

5 of paragraph (1), other than an order approving a settle6 ment agreement, may continue in effect after the entry 

7 of final judgment, unless at the time of, or after, such 

8 entry the court makes a separate finding of fact that the 

9 requirements of paragraph (1) continue to be met. 

10 ‘‘(b) In any civil action in which the pleadings state 

11 facts that are relevant to the protection of public health 

12 or safety, a court shall not enforce any provision of an 

13 agreement between or among parties to a civil action, or 

14 enforce an order entered as a result of the operation of 

15 subsection (a)(1), to the extent that such provision or such 

16 order prohibits or otherwise restricts a party from dis17 closing any information relevant to such civil action to any 

18 Federal or State agency with authority to enforce laws 

19 regulating an activity relating to such information. 

20 ‘‘(c)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a court shall not 

21 enforce any provision of a settlement agreement in any 

22 civil action in which the pleadings state facts that are rel23 evant to the protection of public health or safety, between 

24 or among parties that prohibits one or more parties 

25 from— 

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1 ‘‘(A) disclosing the fact that such settlement 

2 was reached or the terms of such settlement (exclud3 ing any money paid) that involve matters relevant to 

4 the protection of public health or safety; or 

5 ‘‘(B) discussing matters relevant to the protec6 tion of public health or safety involved in such civil 

7 action. 

8 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) applies unless the court has made 

9 independent findings of fact that— 

10 ‘‘(A) the public interest in the disclosure of 

11 past, present, or potential public health or safety 

12 hazards is outweighed by a specific and substantial 

13 interest in maintaining the confidentiality of the in14 formation in question; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the requested order is no broader than 

16 necessary to protect the confidentiality interest as17 serted. 

18 ‘‘(d) Notwithstanding subsections (a)(1)(B)(i) and 

19 (c)(2)(A), when weighing the interest in maintaining con20 fidentiality under this section, there shall be a rebuttable 

21 presumption that the interest in protecting personally 

22 identifiable information of an individual outweighs the 

23 public interest in disclosure. 

24 ‘‘(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to per25 mit, require, or authorize the disclosure of classified informstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with BILLS

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1 mation (as defined under section 1 of the Classified Infor2 mation Procedures Act (18 U.S.C. App.)).’’. 

3 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

4 The table of sections for chapter 111 of title 28, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding after the item relating 

6 to section 1659 the following: 

‘‘1660. Restrictions on protective orders and sealing of cases and settlements.’’. 

7 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

8 The amendments made by this Act shall— 

9 (1) take effect 30 days after the date of enact10 ment of this Act; and 

11 (2) apply only to orders entered in civil actions 

12 or agreements entered into on or after such date. 

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