IB 
Union Calendar No. 114 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 966 
[Report No. 112–174] 
To amend Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to improve 
attorney accountability, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 9, 2011 
Mr. SMITH of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
JULY 21, 2011 
Additional sponsors: Mr. CANSECO, Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. CALVERT, and Mr. 
HERGER 
JULY 21, 2011 
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] 
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A BILL 
To amend Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 
to improve attorney accountability, and for other purposes. 
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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 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. ATTORNEY ACCOUNTABILITY. 
(a) SANCTIONS UNDER RULE 11.—Rule 11(c) of the 
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘may’’ and in-
serting ‘‘shall’’; 
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Rule 5’’ and 
all that follows through ‘‘motion.’’ and inserting 
‘‘Rule 5.’’; and 
(3) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘situated’’ 
and all that follows through the end of the para-
graph and inserting ‘‘situated, and to compensate 
the parties that were injured by such conduct. Sub-
ject to the limitations in paragraph (5), the sanction 
shall consist of an order to pay to the party or par-
ties the amount of the reasonable expenses incurred 
as a direct result of the violation, including reason-
able attorneys’ fees and costs. The court may also 
impose additional appropriate sanctions, such as 
striking the pleadings, dismissing the suit, or other 
directives of a nonmonetary nature, or, if warranted 
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for effective deterrence, an order directing payment 
of a penalty into the court’’. 
(b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 
shall be construed to bar or impede the assertion or devel-
opment of new claims, defenses, or remedies under Fed-
eral, State, or local laws, including civil rights laws. 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lawsuit Abuse Reduc-
tion Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. ATTORNEY ACCOUNTABILITY. 
(a) SANCTIONS UNDER RULE 11.—Rule 11(c) of the 
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘may’’ and in-
serting ‘‘shall’’; 
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Rule 5’’ and 
all that follows through ‘‘motion.’’ and inserting 
‘‘Rule 5.’’; and 
(3) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘situated’’ and 
all that follows through the end of the paragraph and 
inserting ‘‘situated, and to compensate the parties 
that were injured by such conduct. Subject to the lim-
itations in paragraph (5), the sanction shall consist 
of an order to pay to the party or parties the amount 
of the reasonable expenses incurred as a direct result 
of the violation, including reasonable attorneys’ fees 
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and costs. The court may also impose additional ap-
propriate sanctions, such as striking the pleadings, 
dismissing the suit, or other directives of a nonmone-
tary nature, or, if warranted for effective deterrence, 
an order directing payment of a penalty into the 
court.’’. 
(b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 
shall be construed to bar or impede the assertion or develop-
ment of new claims, defenses, or remedies under Federal, 
State, or local laws, including civil rights laws, or under 
the Constitution. 
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Union Calendar No. 114 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 966 
[Report No. 112–174] 
A BILL 
To amend Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil 
Procedure to improve attorney accountability, 
and for other purposes. 
JULY 21, 2011 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:42 Jul 21, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
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