I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4421 
To amend title 28, United States Code, to modify venue requirements relating 
to bankruptcy proceedings. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 
Ms. LOFGREN (for herself, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. CRIST, and Mr. 
STEUBE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 28, United States Code, to modify venue 
requirements relating to bankruptcy proceedings. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bankruptcy Venue Re-
form Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(1) bankruptcy law provides a number of venue 
options for filing bankruptcy under chapter 11 of 
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title 11, United States Code, including, with respect 
to the entity filing bankruptcy— 
(A) any district in which the place of in-
corporation of the entity is located; 
(B) any district in which the principal 
place of business or principal assets of the enti-
ty are located; and 
(C) any district in which an affiliate of the 
entity has filed a pending case under title 11, 
United States Code; 
(2) the wide range of permissible bankruptcy 
venue options has led to an increase in companies 
filing for bankruptcy outside of their home States— 
the district in which the principal place of business 
or principal assets of the company is located; 
(3) the practice described in paragraph (2) is 
known as ‘‘forum shopping’’; 
(4) forum shopping has resulted in a concentra-
tion of bankruptcy cases in a limited number of dis-
tricts; 
(5) forum shopping— 
(A) prevents small businesses, employees, 
retirees, creditors, and other important stake-
holders from fully participating in bankruptcy 
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cases that have tremendous impacts on their 
lives, communities, and local economies; and 
(B) deprives district courts of the United 
States of the opportunity to contribute to the 
development of bankruptcy law in the jurisdic-
tions of those district courts; and 
(6) reducing forum shopping in the bankruptcy 
system will strengthen the integrity of, and build 
public confidence and ensure fairness in, the bank-
ruptcy system. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to prevent 
the practice of forum shopping in cases filed under chapter 
11 of title 11, United States Code. 
SEC. 3. VENUE OF CASES UNDER TITLE 11. 
Title 28, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking section 1408 and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘§ 1408. Venue of cases under title 11 
‘‘(a) PRINCIPAL PLACE
OF BUSINESS WITH RE-
SPECT TO CERTAIN ENTITIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), for the purposes of this section, if an en-
tity is subject to the reporting requirements of sec-
tion 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m, 78o(d)), the term ‘principal 
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place of business’, with respect to the entity, means 
the address of the principal executive office of the 
entity as stated in the last annual report filed under 
that Act before the commencement of a case under 
title 11 of which the entity is the subject. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—With respect to an entity 
described in paragraph (1), the definition of the 
‘principal place of business’ under that paragraph 
shall apply for purposes of this section unless an-
other address is shown to be the principal place of 
business of the entity by clear and convincing evi-
dence. 
‘‘(b) VENUE.—Except as provided in section 1410, 
a case under title 11 may be commenced only in the dis-
trict court for the district— 
‘‘(1) in which the domicile, residence, or prin-
cipal assets in the United States of an individual 
who is the subject of the case have been located— 
‘‘(A) for the 180 days immediately pre-
ceding such commencement; or 
‘‘(B) for a longer portion of the 180-day 
period immediately preceding such commence-
ment than the domicile, residence, or principal 
assets in the United States of the individual 
were located in any other district; 
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‘‘(2) in which the principal place of business or 
principal assets in the United States of an entity, 
other than an individual, that is the subject of the 
case have been located— 
‘‘(A) for the 180 days immediately pre-
ceding such commencement; or 
‘‘(B) for a longer portion of the 180-day 
period immediately preceding such commence-
ment than the principal place of business or 
principal assets in the United States of the en-
tity were located in any other district; or 
‘‘(3) in which there is pending a case under 
title 11 concerning an affiliate that directly or indi-
rectly owns, controls, or holds 50 percent or more of 
the outstanding voting securities of, or is the general 
partner of, the entity that is the subject of the later 
filed case, but only if the pending case was properly 
filed in that district in accordance with this section. 
‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of para-
graphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b), no effect shall 
be given to a change in the ownership or control of 
an entity that is the subject of the case, or of an af-
filiate of the entity, or to a transfer of the principal 
place of business or principal assets in the United 
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States of an entity that is the subject of the case, 
or of an affiliate of the person entity, to another dis-
trict, that takes place— 
‘‘(A) within 1 year before the date on 
which the case is commenced; or 
‘‘(B) for the purpose of establishing venue. 
‘‘(2) PRINCIPAL ASSETS.— 
‘‘(A) PRINCIPAL
ASSETS
OF
AN
ENTITY 
OTHER THAN AN INDIVIDUAL.—For the pur-
poses of subsection (b)(2) and paragraph (1) of 
this subsection— 
‘‘(i) the term ‘principal assets’ does 
not include cash or cash equivalents; and 
‘‘(ii) any equity interest in an affiliate 
is located in the district in which the hold-
er of the equity interest has its principal 
place of business in the United States, as 
determined in accordance with subsection 
(b)(2). 
‘‘(B) EQUITY
INTERESTS
OF
INDIVID-
UALS.—For the purposes of subsection (b)(1), 
if the holder of any equity interest in an affil-
iate is an individual, the equity interest is lo-
cated in the district in which the domicile or 
residence in the United States of the holder of 
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