IB
Union Calendar No. 34
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 988
[Report No. 104–62]
To reform the Federal civil justice system.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 16, 1995
Mr. MOORHEAD (for himself, Mr. HYDE, and Mr. GOODLATTE) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
MARCH 1, 1995
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 16, 1995]
A BILL
To reform the Federal civil justice system.
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 ‘‘Attorney Accountability
Act of 1995’’.
SEC. 2. AWARD OF COSTS AND ATTORNEY’S FEES IN FED-
ERAL CIVIL DIVERSITY LITIGATION AFTER AN
OFFER OF SETTLEMENT.
Section 1332 of title 28, United States Code, is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(e)(1) In any action over which the court has juris-
diction under this section, any party may, at any time not
less than 10 days before trial, serve upon any adverse party
a written offer to settle a claim or claims for money or
property or to the effect specified in the offer, including a
motion to dismiss all claims, and to enter into a stipulation
dismissing the claim or claims or allowing judgment to be
entered according to the terms of the offer. Any such offer,
together with proof of service thereof, shall be filed with the
clerk of the court.
‘‘(2) If the party receiving an offer under paragraph
(1) serves written notice on the offeror that the offer is ac-
cepted, either party may then file with the clerk of the court
the notice of acceptance, together with proof of service there-
of.
‘‘(3) The fact that an offer under paragraph (1) is
made but not accepted does not preclude a subsequent offer
under paragraph (1). Evidence of an offer is not admissible
for any purpose except in proceedings to enforce a settle-
ment, or to determine costs and expenses under this sub-
section.
‘‘(4) At any time before judgment is entered, the court,
upon its own motion or upon the motion of any party, may
exempt from this subsection any claim that the court finds
presents a question of law or fact that is novel and impor-
tant and that substantially affects nonparties. If a claim
is exempted from this subsection, all offers made by any
party under paragraph (1) with respect to that claim shall
be void and have no effect.
‘‘(5) If all offers made by a party under paragraph
(1) with respect to a claim or claims, including any motion
to dismiss all claims, are not accepted and the judgment,
verdict, or order finally issued (exclusive of costs, expenses,
and attorneys’ fees incurred after judgment or trial) in the
action under this section is not more favorable to the offeree
with respect to the claim or claims than the last such offer,
the offeror may file with the court, within 10 days after
the final judgment, verdict, or order is issued, a petition
for payment of costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees,
incurred with respect to the claim or claims from the date
the last such offer was made.
‘‘(6) If the court finds, pursuant to a petition filed
under paragraph (5) with respect to a claim or claims, that
the judgment, verdict, or order finally obtained is not more
favorable to the offeree with respect to the claim or claims
than the last offer, the court shall order the offeree to pay
the offeror’s costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees,
incurred with respect to the claim or claims from the date
the last offer was made, unless the court finds that requiring
the payment of such costs and expenses would be manifestly
unjust.
‘‘(7) Attorney’s fees under paragraph (6) shall be a
reasonable attorney’s fee attributable to the claim or claims
involved, calculated on the basis of an hourly rate which
may not exceed that which the court considers acceptable
in the community in which the attorney practices law, tak-
ing into account the attorney’s qualifications and experi-
ence and the complexity of the case, except that the attor-
ney’s fees under paragraph (6) may not exceed—
‘‘(A) the actual cost incurred by the offeree for
an attorney’s fee payable to an attorney for services
in connection with the claim or claims; or
‘‘(B) if no such cost was incurred by the offeree
due to a contingency fee agreement, a reasonable cost
that would have been incurred by the offeree for an
attorney’s noncontingent fee payable to an attorney
for services in connection with the claim or claims.
‘‘(8) This subsection does not apply to any claim seek-
ing an equitable remedy.’’.
SEC. 3. HONESTY IN EVIDENCE.
Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence (28 U.S.C.
App.) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) In general.—’’ before ‘‘If ’’,
and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(b) Adequate basis for opinion.—Testimony in the
form of an opinion by a witness that is based on scientific
knowledge shall be inadmissible in evidence unless the court
determines that such opinion—
‘‘(1) is scientifically valid and reliable;
‘‘(2) has a valid scientific connection to the fact
it is offered to prove; and
‘‘(3) is sufficiently reliable so that the probative
value of such evidence outweighs the dangers specified
in rule 403.
‘‘(c) Disqualification.—Testimony by a witness who is
qualified as described in subdivision (a) is inadmissible in
evidence if the witness is entitled to receive any compensa-
tion contingent on the legal disposition of any claim with
respect to which the testimony is offered.
‘‘(d) Scope.—Subdivision (b) does not apply to crimi-
nal proceedings.’’.
SEC. 4. ATTORNEY ACCOUNTABILITY.
(a) SANCTIONS.—Rule 11(c) of the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure (28 U.S.C. App.) is amended—
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by
striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting ‘‘shall’’;
(2) in paragraph (1)(A)—
(A) in the second sentence by striking ‘‘, but
shall’’ and all that follows through ‘‘corrected’’;
and
(B) in the third sentence by striking ‘‘may’’
and inserting ‘‘shall’’; and
(3) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘A sanction
imposed’’ and all that follows through ‘‘violation.’’
and inserting the following: ‘‘A sanction imposed for
a violation of this rule shall be sufficient to deter rep-
etition of such conduct or comparable conduct by oth-
ers similarly situated, and to compensate the parties
that were injured by such conduct. Subject to the lim-
itations in subparagraphs (A) and (B), the sanction
may consist of an order to pay to the other party or
parties the amount of the reasonable expenses in-
curred as a direct result of the filing of the pleading,
motion, or other paper that is the subject of the viola-
tion, including a reasonable attorney’s fee.’’.
(b) APPLICABILITY TO DISCOVERY.—Rule 11 of the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is amended by striking
subdivision (d).
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.
(a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subject to subsection (b), this
Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect
on the first day of the first month beginning more than
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.—
(1) The amendment made by section 2 shall
apply only with respect to civil actions commenced
after the effective date of this Act.
(2) The amendments made by section 3 shall
apply only with respect to cases in which a trial be-
gins after the effective date of this Act.