H.R. 6084

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6084 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6084

To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to 
strengthen the pleading standards for certain claims, and for other 
purposes.

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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

November 18, 2025

Mr. Fine introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committee 
on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

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A BILL

To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to 
strengthen the pleading standards for certain claims, 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 ``ERISA Litigation Reform Act''.

SEC. 2. PLEADING STANDARD.

Section 502 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
(29 U.S.C. 1132) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(n) For the purpose of any civil action under this section 
alleging that a fiduciary caused a plan to engage in a transaction that 
violates subparagraph (C) or (D) of section 406(a)(1), a plaintiff has 
the burden of plausibly alleging and proving that the transaction is 
not exempt under section 408(b)(2).
``(o) For the purpose of any civil action under this section 
alleging that a fiduciary caused a plan to engage in a transaction that 
violates section 406 with respect to the purchase or sale of qualified 
employer securities, a plaintiff has the burden of plausibly alleging 
and proving that the transaction is not exempt under section 408(e).
``(p)(1) For the purpose of any civil action under this section 
against a plan or its fiduciaries, all discovery and other proceedings 
shall be stayed during the pendency of a motion brought under Rule 12 
of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or pending any reply to an 
answer under Rule 7(a)(7) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 
unless the court finds, upon the motion of any party, that 
particularized discovery is necessary to preserve evidence or to 
prevent undue prejudice to that party.
``(2) During the pendency of any stay of discovery pursuant to this 
subsection, unless otherwise ordered by the court or if doing so is 
contrary to the party's document preservation obligations under the 
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, any party to the action with actual 
knowledge of the allegations contained in the complaint shall treat all 
documents, data compilations (including electronically recorded or 
stored data), and tangible objects that are in the possession, custody, 
or control of such person and that the person would reasonably believe 
are relevant to the allegations, as if they were the subject of a 
continuing request for production of documents from an opposing party 
under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. A party's document 
preservation obligations under this paragraph extend to all documents 
held by custodians (such as recordkeepers) that are in the possession, 
custody, or control of the plan or the party.
``(3) A party aggrieved by the willful failure of an opposing party 
to comply with paragraph (2) may apply to the court for an order 
awarding appropriate sanctions.
``(4) Upon a proper showing, a court may stay discovery proceedings 
in any civil action in a State court as necessary in aid of its 
jurisdiction, or to protect or effectuate its judgments, in an action 
subject to a stay of discovery pursuant to this subsection.''.
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