Sunshine in Litigation Act of 2007

A bill to amend chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, relating to protective orders, sealing of cases, disclosures of discovery information in civil actions, and for other purposes.

8/1/2008--Reported to Senate amended. Sunshine in Litigation Act of 2008 - Amends the federal judicial code to prohibit a court from entering an order restricting the disclosure of information obtained through discovery, approving a settlement disagreement that would restrict such disclosure, or restricting access to court records in a civil case, unless the court has found that:
(1) such order would not restrict the disclosure of information which is relevant to the protection of public health or safety; or
(2) the public interest in the disclosure of potential health or safety hazards is outweighed by a specific and substantial interest in maintaining the confidentiality of the information, and the requested protective order is no broader than necessary to protect the privacy interest. Prohibits any party from requesting, as a condition for the production of discovery, that another party stipulate to an order that would violate this Act. Prohibits a court from:
(1) approving or enforcing an order prohibited under this Act, or any provision of an agreement between parties to a civil action, that restricts a party from disclosing information to any federal or state agency with authority to enforce laws regulating an activity relating to such information; or
(2) enforcing any provision of a settlement agreement that prohibits a party from disclosing that a settlement was reached or the terms of the settlement, other than the amount paid, or from discussing a case or evidence that involves matters related to public health or safety, except where the court finds that the public interest in disclosure of potential health and safety hazards is outweighed by a confidentiality interest. Creates a rebuttable presumption that the interest in protecting personally identifiable information relating to an individual's financial, health, or other similar information outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to permit, require, or authorize the disclosure of classified information, as defined under the Classified Information Procedures Act.


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Sponsor

• Sen. Herbert Kohl [D, WI]
• and 2 Co-Sponsors
  • Sen. Lindsey Graham [R, SC]
  • Sen. Patrick Leahy [D, VT]
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Committees

• Senate Judiciary

Amendments

This bill has no amendments.

Amendments to S.2449

Number	Status	Purpose

Bill Status

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Introduced		Voted on by Senate		Voted on by House		Considered By President		Bill Becomes Law
December 11, 2007

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All Bill Actions

• Added to calendar on Aug 01, 2008: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 935..
• Aug 01, 2008: Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Leahy with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 110-439.
• Mar 06, 2008: Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably.
• Added to calendar on Mar 06, 2008: Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably..
• Mar 06, 2008: Committee on the Judiciary. Date of scheduled consideration. SD-226. 10:00 a.m.
• Feb 14, 2008: Committee on the Judiciary. Date of scheduled consideration. SD-226. 10:00 a.m.
• Dec 11, 2007: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
• Introduced on Dec 11, 2007.
• Dec 11, 2007: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S15140-15141)

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Related Issue Areas:

• Law
• Actions and defenses
• Consumers
• Court records
• 7 more
• Discovery (Law)
• Evidence (Law)
• Government information
• Health policy
• Medical care
• Product safety
• Public health

Data from the Congressional Research Service

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Blog Coverage

November 26, 2008 PointofLaw.com | PointOfLaw Forum: Trial lawyer lobbying: Let the ...

S. 2449/H.R. 5884 (Sunshine in Litigation Act; to amend Title 28, U.S.C., relating to the protective orders, sealing of cases, and disclosure of discovery information in civil actions.) • S. 2041/H.R. 4854 (False Claims Act Correction ...

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Source: PointOfLaw Forum

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November 02, 2008 'Sunshine' Should Not Trump Privacy in Civil Litigation

... Trial Lawyers Association" to the "American Association for Justice"—and so has dubbed its proposal to make public nearly all settlement agreements and evidence in personal-injury cases the Sunshine in Litigation Act (S. 2449). ...

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Source: The Heritage Foundation Papers: Energy...

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September 24, 2008 Sunshine Litigation Bill Unnecessary

... before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law. The Conference opposes HR 5884 and its companion bill in the Senate, S. 2449, because they bypass the Rules Enabling Act process established by Congress.

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Source: The Third Branch: Newsletter of the Federal Courts

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