H.R. 7015

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7015 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7015

To amend title 28, United States Code, to protect legal proceedings 
from manipulation and provide for transparency and oversight of third-
party beneficiaries in civil actions.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 12, 2026

Mr. Issa (for himself, Mr. Fitzgerald, and Mr. Baumgartner) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend title 28, United States Code, to protect legal proceedings 
from manipulation and provide for transparency and oversight of third-
party beneficiaries in civil actions.

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 Third Party Litigation 
Funding From Abuse Act'' or the ``Protecting TPLF From Abuse Act''.

SEC. 2. TRANSPARENCY AND OVERSIGHT OF THIRD-PARTY BENEFICIARIES IN 
CIVIL CASES.

(a) In General.--Chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1660. Initial disclosures regarding third-party beneficiaries
``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), in any 
civil action, a party or any counsel of record for a party shall--
``(1) disclose in writing to the court and all other named 
parties to the civil action the identity of any person (other 
than counsel of record) that has a legal right to receive any 
payment or thing of value that is contingent in any respect on 
the outcome or proceeds of the civil action or a group of civil 
actions of which the civil action is a part, including--
``(A) any portion of a settlement, a judgment, or 
an award of attorney's fees from the civil action or 
group of civil actions; or
``(B) any other proceeds from the civil action or 
group of civil actions;
``(2) produce to the court, for in camera review, any 
agreement creating a legal right described in paragraph (1), 
including any ancillary agreement or document; and
``(3) after the review conducted under paragraph (2), 
produce to each other named party to the civil action, for 
inspection and copying, each document produced under paragraph 
(2), subject to any protective order, use limitation, or any 
other limitation or exclusion ordered by the court, including--
``(A) any limitation or exclusion relating to 
attorney-client privilege, the attorney work product 
doctrine, or any other applicable privilege; or
``(B) any limitation or exclusion to protect from 
disclosure to any party or non-party the identity of 
any member, donor, or associate of the person that has 
a legal right described in paragraph (1), except to the 
extent that the member, donor, or associate also has a 
legal right to receive any payment or thing of value 
described in subsection (a)(1) and is not excepted from 
disclosure under subsection (b)(1).
``(b) Exceptions and Limitations.--
``(1) In general.--The requirements under subsection (a) 
shall not apply with respect to a person that has a legal right 
to receive any payment or thing of value described in 
subsection (a)(1) if the legal right is solely regarding--
``(A) the repayment of the principal of a loan;
``(B) the repayment of the principal of a loan plus 
interest that does not exceed the higher of 10 percent 
or a rate three times the annual average 30-year 
constant maturity Treasury yield, as published by the 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, for 
the year preceding the date on which the relevant 
agreement was executed;
``(C) the reimbursement of attorney's fees paid to 
counsel of record for services provided in the civil 
action; or
``(D) the reimbursement of a grant.
``(2) Donor, member, and associate identity.--The 
requirements under subsection (a)(1) shall not apply with 
respect to any donor, member, or associate of the person that 
has a legal right described in subsection (a)(1) unless the 
donor, member, or associate also has a legal right to receive 
any payment or thing of value described in subsection (a)(1) 
and is not excepted from disclosure under subsection (b)(1).
``(3) Donor and member list.--The requirements under 
subsections (a)(2) and (a)(3) shall not require the production 
of lists of members, donors, or associates, and the court shall 
permit redactions of the identity of any member, donor, or 
associate from materials disclosed pursuant to subsection 
(a)(3), unless that member, donor, or associate also has a 
legal right to receive any payment or thing of value described 
in subsection (a)(1) and is not excepted from disclosure under 
subsection (b)(1).
``(4) Admissibility and discovery.--Nothing in this Section 
may be construed to render admissible any disclosure, document, 
or thing provided under this Section, or any information 
therein, or to affect whether any disclosure, document, or 
thing is discoverable except as expressly provided in this 
section.
``(c) Timing.--The disclosures required by subsection (a) shall be 
made not later than the later of--
``(1) 10 days after the execution of any agreement 
described in subsection (a)(2);
``(2) the time of initial disclosures made pursuant to 
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(1); or
``(3) the time set by the court for such disclosures.
``(d) Duty to Correct.--A party or counsel of record that made a 
disclosure required by this section shall supplement or correct each 
such disclosure in a timely manner--
``(1) if such party or counsel of record learns that the 
disclosure is or has become incomplete or incorrect in some 
material respect, if the additional or corrective information 
has not otherwise been made known to the other parties during 
the discovery process or in writing; or
``(2) as ordered by the court.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 111 of 
title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``1660. Third-party beneficiary disclosure.''.

SEC. 3. APPLICABILITY.

The amendments made by this Act shall apply to any civil action 
pending on or commenced after the date of enactment of this Act.
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