Lamar Smith: “Let me thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) for bringing this legislation to the House floor. I appreciate…”

“Let me thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) for bringing this legislation to the House floor. I appreciate all of his efforts to do so, and I appreciate his taking the initiative on this and on so many other issues as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Mr. Speaker, the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act, known as LARA, is just over one-page long, but it would prevent the filing of hundreds of thousands of pages of frivolous lawsuits in Federal court. For example, frivolous lawsuits have been filed against The Weather Channel for failing to accurately predict storms, against television shows people claimed were too scary, and against fast food companies because inactive children gained weight. In other cases, prison inmates have sued alcohol companies, blaming them for a life of crime. A teacher sought damages from her school district based on her fear of children. A father demanded $40 million in compensation after his son was kicked off the track team for excessive absenteeism. There are many, many more examples. Frivolous lawsuits have simply become too common. Lawyers who bring these cases have everything to gain and nothing to lose under current rules, which permit plaintiffs' lawyers to file frivolous lawsuits, no matter how absurd the claims, without any penalty whatsoever. Meanwhile, defendants are often faced with years of litigation and substantial attorneys' fees.…”