[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 18455]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      LAWSUIT ABUSE REDUCTION ACT

  (Mr. BURNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank my colleagues for 
passing H.R. 4571, which is the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act.
  In the NFL, a coach can challenge a referee's call; but if he is 
wrong, he has to give up a time out. It seems fair. But there is no 
personal risk for an unscrupulous trial lawyer to file a lawsuit 
against a company or a person and then offer to settle a dispute for 
less than the cost to defend the case in court. In the criminal laws, 
this would be termed extortion. But under the tort laws, it becomes a 
thriving industry.
  Mr. Speaker, when the Senate passes the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act, 
it will be illegal to sue someone for an imaginary offense and cause 
them to pay thousands of dollars in legal fees in order for a judge to 
make a final official ruling. When one of these cases is deemed without 
merit, the attorney filing the suit will be responsible for paying the 
legal fees of the defendant. It seems like a simple commonsense 
approach to me.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in asking the Senate to take 
immediate action to pass lawsuit abuse reduction in the United States.

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