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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7015 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
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.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
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