Innocent Party Protection Act

Innocent Party Protection Act

This bill requires a federal court, under certain circumstances, to deny a plaintiff's motion to transfer a case to state court based on diversity of state citizenship among the parties. A court must deny such a motion if it finds, for example, that the plaintiff's claim against a defendant is implausible or is not made in good faith.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5345 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5345

 To amend title 28, United States Code, to prevent fraudulent joinder.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 6, 2019

   Mr. Buck (for himself, Mr. Collins of Georgia, and Mr. Ratcliffe) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 28, United States Code, to prevent fraudulent joinder.

    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 ``Innocent Party Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. PREVENTION OF FRAUDULENT JOINDER.

    Section 1447 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(f) Fraudulent Joinder.--
            ``(1) This subsection shall apply to any case in which--
                    ``(A) a civil action is removed solely on the basis 
                of the jurisdiction conferred by section 1332(a);
                    ``(B) a motion to remand is made on the ground 
                that--
                            ``(i) one or more defendants are citizens 
                        of the same State as one or more plaintiffs; or
                            ``(ii) one or more defendants properly 
                        joined and served are citizens of the State in 
                        which the action was brought; and
                    ``(C) the motion is opposed on the ground that the 
                joinder of the defendant or defendants described in 
                subparagraph (B) is fraudulent.
            ``(2) The joinder of a defendant described in paragraph 
        (1)(B) is fraudulent if the court finds that--
                    ``(A) there is actual fraud in the pleading of 
                jurisdictional facts with respect to that defendant;
                    ``(B) based on the complaint and the materials 
                submitted under paragraph (3), it is not plausible to 
                conclude that applicable State law would impose 
                liability on that defendant;
                    ``(C) State or Federal law clearly bars all claims 
                in the complaint against that defendant; or
                    ``(D) objective evidence clearly demonstrates that 
                there is no good faith intention to prosecute the 
                action against that defendant or to seek a joint 
                judgment including that defendant.
            ``(3) In determining whether to grant or deny a motion 
        under paragraph (1)(B), the court may permit the pleadings to 
        be amended, and shall consider the pleadings, affidavits, and 
        other evidence submitted by the parties.
            ``(4) If the court finds that all defendants described in 
        paragraph (1)(B) have been fraudulently joined under paragraph 
        (2), it shall dismiss without prejudice the claims against 
        those defendants and shall deny the motion described in 
        paragraph (1)(B).''.
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