I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4571 
To amend Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to improve 
attorney accountability, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 15, 2004 
Mr. SMITH of Texas (for himself, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. FORBES, Mr. 
GREEN of Wisconsin, Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. GARRETT of 
New Jersey, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. DELAY, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. 
CULBERSON, Mr. KELLER, Mr. CARTER, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. CALVERT, and 
Mr. GOODLATTE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 
to improve attorney accountability, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Lawsuit Abuse Reduc-
tion Act of 2004’’. 
SEC. 2. ATTORNEY ACCOUNTABILITY. 
Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is 
amended—
(1) in subdivision (c)— 
(A) by amending the first sentence to read 
as follows: ‘‘If a pleading, motion, or other 
paper is signed in violation of this rule, the 
court, upon motion or upon its own initiative, 
shall impose upon the attorney, law firm, or 
parties that have violated this subdivision or are 
responsible for the violation, an appropriate 
sanction, which may include an order to the 
other party or parties to pay for the reasonable 
expenses incurred as a direct result of the filing 
of the pleading, motion, or other paper, that is 
the subject of the violation, including a reason-
able attorney’s fee.’’; 
(B) in paragraph (1)(A)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘Rule 5’’ and all that 
follows through ‘‘corrected.’’ and inserting 
‘‘Rule 5.’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘the court may award’’ 
and inserting ‘‘the court shall award’’; and 
(C) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘shall be 
limited to what is sufficient’’ and all that fol-
lows through the end of the paragraph (includ-
ing subparagraphs (A) and (B)) and inserting 
‘‘shall be sufficient to deter repetition of such
conduct or comparable conduct by others simi-
larly situated, and to compensate the parties 
that were injured by such conduct. The sanc-
tion may consist of an order to pay to the party 
or parties the amount of the reasonable ex-
penses incurred as a direct result of the filing 
of the pleading, motion, or other paper that is 
the subject of the violation, including a reason-
able attorney’s fee.’’; and 
(2) by striking subdivision (d). 
SEC. 3. APPLICABILITY OF RULE 11 TO STATE CASES AF-
FECTING INTERSTATE COMMERCE. 
In any civil action in State court, the court, upon mo-
tion, shall determine within 30 days after the filing of such 
motion whether the action affects interstate commerce. 
Such court shall make such determination based on an 
assessment of the costs to the interstate economy, includ-
ing the loss of jobs, were the relief requested granted. If 
the court determines such action affects interstate com-
merce, the provisions of Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of 
Civil Procedure shall apply to such action. 
SEC. 4. PREVENTION OF FORUM-SHOPPING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), a per-
sonal injury claim filed in State or Federal court may be
filed only in the State and, within that State, in the county 
(or Federal district) in which— 
(1) the person bringing the claim, including an 
estate in the case of a decedent and a parent or 
guardian in the case of a minor or incompetent— 
(A) resides at the time of filing; or 
(B) resided at the time of the alleged in-
jury; or 
(2) the alleged injury or circumstances giving 
rise to the personal injury claim allegedly occurred; 
or 
(3) the defendant’s principal place of business 
is located. 
(b) 
DETERMINATION
OF
MOST
APPROPRIATE 
FORUM.—If a person alleges that the injury or cir-
cumstances giving rise to the personal injury claim oc-
curred in more than one county (or Federal district), the 
trial court shall determine which State and county (or 
Federal district) is the most appropriate forum for the 
claim. If the court determines that another forum would 
be the most appropriate forum for a claim, the court shall 
dismiss the claim. Any otherwise applicable statute of limi-
tations shall be tolled beginning on the date the claim was 
filed and ending on the date the claim is dismissed under 
this subsection.
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘personal injury claim’’— 
(A) means a civil action brought under 
State law by any person to recover for a per-
son’s personal injury, illness, disease, death, 
mental or emotional injury, risk of disease, or 
other injury, or the costs of medical monitoring 
or surveillance (to the extent such claims are 
recognized under State law), including any de-
rivative action brought on behalf of any person 
on whose injury or risk of injury the action is 
based by any representative party, including a 
spouse, parent, child, or other relative of such 
person, a guardian, or an estate; and 
(B) does not include a claim brought as a 
class action. 
(2) The term ‘‘person’’ means any individual, 
corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, 
society, joint stock company, or any other entity, but 
not any governmental entity. 
(3) The term ‘‘State’’ includes the District of 
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and any other 
territory or possession of the United States.
(d) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to any per-
sonal injury claim filed in Federal or State court on or 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in section 3 or in the amendments made by 
section 2 shall be construed to bar or impede the assertion 
or development of new claims or remedies under Federal, 
State, or local civil rights law. 
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