About the bill
See instead H.R. 720 which amends Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to improve attorney accountability by restoring mandatory sanctions for filing frivolous lawsuits, in an effort to protect individuals and businesses from unnecessary legal costs. Specifically, the bill:
(1) restores mandatory sanctions for filing frivolous lawsuits in violation of Rule 11;
(2) removes Rule 11’s ‘‘safe harbor’’ provision that currently allows parties and their attorneys to avoid sanctions for making frivolous claims by withdrawing frivolous claims after a motion for sanctions has been filed; and,
(3) requires monetary sanctions, including attorneys’ fees and compensatory costs, against any party making a frivolous claim.
The bill also specifies that nothing contained within ‘‘shall be construed to bar or impede the assertion or development of new claims, defenses, or …
Sponsor and status
115th Congress (2017–2019)
This bill was introduced on January 30, 2017, in a previous session of Congress, but it did not receive a vote.
Although this bill was not enacted, its provisions could have become law by being included in another bill. It is common for legislative text to be introduced concurrently in multiple bills (called companion bills), re-introduced in subsequent sessions of Congress in new bills, or added to larger bills (sometimes called omnibus bills).
1 Cosponsor (1 Republican)
H.R. 720
(same title)
Passed House (Senate next) — Mar 10, 2017
Position statements
What legislators are saying
“Roe: Veterans Are Now Able to Choose Burial Receptacle at Andrew Johnson National Cemetery”
—
Rep. David “Phil” Roe [R-TN1, 2009-2020]
on Jun 18, 2018
“Roe Supports Bill to Help Veterans Pay for Burial Receptacle at Andrew Johnson National Cemetery”
—
Rep. David “Phil” Roe [R-TN1, 2009-2020]
on May 7, 2018
History
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Mar 9, 2011
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Earlier Version —
Introduced
This activity took place on a related bill, S. 533 (112th). |
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Jul 11, 2013
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Earlier Version —
Introduced
This activity took place on a related bill, S. 1288 (113th). |
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Feb 5, 2015
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Earlier Version —
Introduced
This activity took place on a related bill, S. 401 (114th). |
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Jan 30, 2017
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Introduced
Bills and resolutions are referred to committees which debate the bill before possibly sending it on to the whole chamber. |
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Mar 10, 2017
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Companion Bill —
Passed House (Senate next)
This activity took place on a related bill, H.R. 720 (115th), possibly in lieu of similar activity on S. 237 (115th). |
S. 237 (115th) was a bill in the United States Congress.
A bill must be passed by both the House and Senate in identical form and then be signed by the President to become law.
Bills numbers restart every two years. That means there are other bills with the number S. 237. This is the one from the 115th Congress.
This bill was introduced in the 115th Congress, which met from Jan 3, 2017 to Jan 3, 2019. Legislation not passed by the end of a Congress is cleared from the books.
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GovTrack automatically collects legislative information from a variety of governmental and non-governmental sources. This page is sourced primarily from Congress.gov, the official portal of the United States Congress. Congress.gov is generally updated one day after events occur, and so legislative activity shown here may be one day behind. Data via the congress project.
