[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5488 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5488
To amend chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, to increase
transparency and oversight of third-party funding by foreign persons,
to prohibit third-party funding by foreign states and sovereign wealth
funds, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 14, 2023
Mr. Johnson of Louisiana introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, to increase
transparency and oversight of third-party funding by foreign persons,
to prohibit third-party funding by foreign states and sovereign wealth
funds, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Our Courts from Foreign
Manipulation Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. TRANSPARENCY AND LIMITATIONS ON FOREIGN THIRD-PARTY LITIGATION
FUNDING.
(a) In General.--Chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1660. Transparency and limitations on foreign third-party
litigation funding
``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
``(1) the term `foreign person'--
``(A) means any person or entity that is not a
United States person, as defined in section 101 of the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50
U.S.C. 1801); and
``(B) does not include a foreign state or a
sovereign wealth fund;
``(2) the term `foreign state' has the meaning given that
term in section 1603; and
``(3) the term `sovereign wealth fund' means an investment
fund owned or controlled by a foreign state, an agency or
instrumentality of a foreign state (as defined in section
1603), or an agent of a foreign principal (as defined in
section 1 of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as
amended (22 U.S.C. 611)).
``(b) Disclosure of Third-Party Litigation Funding and Foreign
Source Certification by Foreign Persons, Foreign States, and Sovereign
Wealth Funds.--
``(1) In general.--In any civil action, each party or the
counsel of record for the party shall--
``(A) disclose in writing to the court, to all
other named parties to the civil action, to the
Attorney General, and to the Principal Deputy Assistant
Attorney General for National Security--
``(i) the name, the address, and, if
applicable, the citizenship or the country of
incorporation or registration of any foreign
person, foreign state, or sovereign wealth
fund, other than the named parties or counsel
of record, that has a right to receive any
payment that is contingent in any respect on
the outcome of the civil action by settlement,
judgment, or otherwise;
``(ii) the name, the address, and, if
applicable, the citizenship or the country of
incorporation or registration of any foreign
person, foreign state, or sovereign wealth
fund, other than the named parties or counsel
of record, that has a right to receive any
payment that is contingent in any respect on
the outcome of any matter within a portfolio
that includes the civil action and involves the
same counsel of record or affiliated counsel;
and
``(iii) if the party or the counsel of
record for the party submits a certification
described in subparagraph (C)(i), the name, the
address, and, if applicable, the citizenship or
the country of incorporation or registration of
the foreign person, foreign state, or sovereign
wealth fund that is the source of the money;
``(B) produce to the court, to all other named
parties to the civil action, to the Attorney General,
and to the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General
for National Security, except as otherwise stipulated
or ordered by the court, a copy of any agreement
creating a contingent right described in subparagraph
(A); and
``(C) for a civil action involving an agreement
creating a right to receive any payment by anyone,
other than the named parties or counsel of record, that
is contingent in any respect on the outcome of the
civil action by settlement, judgment, or otherwise, or
on the outcome of any matter within a portfolio that
includes the civil action and involves the same counsel
or affiliated counsel, submit to the court a
certification that--
``(i) the money that has been or will be
used to satisfy any term of the agreement has
been or will be directly or indirectly sourced,
in whole or in part, from a foreign person,
foreign state, or sovereign wealth fund,
including the monetary amounts that have been
or will be used to satisfy the agreement; or
``(ii) that the disclosure and
certification criteria set forth in
subparagraph (A)(iii) and clause (i) of this
subparagraph do not apply to the civil action.
``(2) Timing.--
``(A) In general.--The disclosure and certification
required by paragraph (1) shall be made not later than
the later of--
``(i) 30 days after execution of any
agreement described in paragraph (1); or
``(ii) the date on which the civil action
is filed.
``(B) Parties served or joined later.--A party that
enters into an agreement described in paragraph (1)
that is first served or joined after the date on which
the civil action is filed shall make the disclosure and
certification required by paragraph (1) not later than
30 days after being served or joined, unless a
different time is set by stipulation or court order.
``(3) Foreign source disclosure and certification format.--
``(A) In general.--A disclosure required under
paragraph (1)(A) and a certification required under
paragraph (1)(C) shall--
``(i) be made in the form of a declaration
under penalty of perjury pursuant to section
1746 and shall be made to the best knowledge,
information, and belief of the declarant formed
after reasonable inquiry; and
``(ii) be provided to all other named
parties to the civil action, to the Attorney
General, and to the Principal Deputy Assistant
Attorney General for National Security by the
party or counsel of record for the party making
the disclosure and certification, except as
otherwise stipulated or ordered by the court.
``(B) Supplementation and correction.--Not later
than 30 days after the date on which a party or counsel
of record for the party knew or should have known that
the disclosure required under paragraph (1)(A) or a
certification required under paragraph (1)(C) is
incomplete or inaccurate in any material respect, the
party or counsel of record shall supplement or correct
the disclosure or certification.
``(c) Prohibition on Third-Party Funding Litigation by Foreign
States and Sovereign Wealth Funds.--
``(1) In general.--It shall be unlawful for any party to or
counsel of record for a civil action to enter into an agreement
creating a right for anyone, other than the named parties or
counsel of record, to receive any payment that is contingent in
any respect on the outcome of a civil action or any matter
within a portfolio that includes the civil action and involves
the same counsel of record or affiliated counsel, the terms of
which are to be satisfied by money that has been or will be
directly or indirectly sourced, in whole or in part, from a
foreign state or a sovereign wealth fund.
``(2) Enforcement.--Any agreement entered in violation of
paragraph (1) shall be null and void.
``(d) Failure To Disclose, To Supplement; Sanctions.--A disclosure,
production, or certification under subsection (b) is deemed to be
information required by rule 26(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure and subject to the sanctions provisions of rule 37 of the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections
chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``1660. Transparency and limitations on foreign third-party litigation
funding.''.
SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and
annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee
on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of
the House of Representatives a report on the activities involving
foreign third-party litigation funding in Federal courts, including, if
applicable--
(1) the identities of foreign third-party litigation
funders in Federal courts, including names, addresses, and
citizenship or country of incorporation or registration;
(2) the identities of foreign persons, foreign states, or
sovereign wealth funds (as such terms are defined in section
1660 of title 28, United States Code, as added by section 2 of
this Act) that have been the sources of money for third-party
litigation funding in Federal courts;
(3) the judicial districts in which foreign third-party
litigation funding has occurred;
(4) an estimate of the total amount of foreign-sourced
money used for third-party litigation funding in Federal
courts, including an estimate of the amount of such money
sourced from each country; and
(5) a summary of the subject matters of the civil actions
in Federal courts for which foreign sourced money has been used
for third-party litigation funding.
SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY.
The amendments made by this Act shall apply to any civil action
pending on or commenced on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
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