[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 27 (Wednesday, March 5, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1987-S1988]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GRASSLEY:

  S. 400. A bill to amend rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil 
Procedure, relating to representations in court and sanctions for 
violating such rule, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.


              THE FRIVOLOUS LAWSUIT PREVENTION ACT OF 1997

 Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce 
important tort reform legislation. Tort reform is needed for many 
reasons--one of which is to free our courts of frivolous lawsuits. 
Frivolous lawsuits take the courts' time away from trying legitimate 
lawsuits, and deprive the truly injured of timely resolution of their 
claims.
  Mr. President, our courts are supposed to be venues for resolving 
disputes. Lawsuits are supposed to be the means by which injured 
parties seek relief--they are not intended to be used as weapons to 
harass, delay, or increase the cost to the other party. Too often 
entire lawsuits, or claims within ongoing lawsuits, are used as 
weapons. The bill that I introduce today takes a stab at these 
lawsuits. It toughens the penalties for filing frivolous lawsuits and 
insures that if someone files a frivolous lawsuit, that someone will 
pay.
  Our front-line defense against this misuse of the legal system is 
rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This rule is intended 
to deter frivolous lawsuits by sanctioning the offending party. 
The power of rule 11 was diluted in 1993. This weakening is 
unacceptable to those of us who want to preserve courts as neutral 
forums for dispute resolution and who believe that lawsuits are not 
weapons of revenge, but a means for an injured party to gain relief.

  Senator Brown introduced a bill very similar to this legislation in 
the last Congress. The Senate adopted the text of his bill as an 
amendment to the Common Sense Product Liability and Legal Reform Act. 
His amendment passed by a vote of 56 to 37.
  The bill that I am introducing today is similar, but not identical to 
Senator Brown's bill. The civil rights community raised some concerns 
with his bill, and my version of the legislation is responsive to these 
concerns. The provision that was opposed reinstated the rule 11 
requirement that allegations contained in motions and other court 
papers be well grounded in fact when filed, rather than allowing a 
``reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery.'' 
Unlike Senator Brown's bill, my bill does not change this subsection of 
rule 11.
  My bill does take strong steps to thwart frivolous lawsuits. First, 
my bill makes sanctions for the violation of this rule mandatory. One 
of the

[[Page S1988]]

most harmful changes that took effect in 1993 was to make sanctions for 
proven violations of this rule permissive. This means that if a party 
files a lawsuit simply to harass another party, and the court decides 
that this is in fact the case, the offending party still might not be 
sanctioned. This is unacceptable. The offending party might not be 
punished at all, which provides no deterrence for this offending party 
or anyone else who wants to misuse the courts. My bill reinstates the 
requirement that if there is a violation of this rule, there are 
sanctions.
  My bill also removes the limitation on sanctions, and allows 
sanctions to be paid to the injured party for more than attorneys' fees 
and expenses. In addition, this legislation allows the sanctioning of 
attorneys for arguing for an extension of current law if their actions 
violate this rule. Again, if the rule is violated, there needs to be 
sanctions.
  Mr. President, this bill will not, by itself, stop the misuse of our 
courts. It is, however, a good first step. It is a necessary step. It 
is a bill that we must pass to sanction those who use the legal system 
to harass and torment others. That is not what the courts were 
established to do. We must protect the integrity of the courts and 
preserve them for proper use.
                                 ______