H.R. 5488

[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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