On the recordNovember 14, 2013
I thank my good friend from Michigan (Mr. Conyers). Mr. Speaker, make no mistake, the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act is little more than a GOP effort to turn back the clock on civil rights, on consumer protections, and on justice in America. I urge my colleagues to vote against it. To most people, what this bill is sounds harmless. It reinstates the 1983 version of rule 11 in our Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Indeed, this legislation is full of legal jargon and obscure technical language. But the American people still need to know why it is that the majority wants to go back to 1983 so badly. They want to reinstate the 1983 rule for the very reason it was taken away in the first place: it unfairly disadvantaged consumers, employees, and other ordinary Americans that tried to take on big corporations in our court system. The Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act doesn't stop frivolous lawsuits; it only makes it easier for corporations to file frivolous lawsuits for the sole purpose of delaying the legal process and driving up the cost of litigation. These tactics aim to make the price of justice too expensive for ordinary Americans, especially in cases involving consumer and civil rights. You don't have to take my word for it. Studies have shown that civil rights and discrimination cases made up just 11.4 percent of the Federal court docket but 22 percent of the cases derailed by this rule.…
