President Barack Obama pledged in his State of the Union Address on Jan. 25, 2011, that he was “willing to look at…ideas to bring down costs including reform to rein in frivolous lawsuits.” In accordance with this statement, on March 9, 2011, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) introduced H.R. 966 to amend Fed.R.Civ.P. 11 in an attempt to reduce frivolous lawsuits. Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) then introduced its Senate companion bill, S. 533.
Mr. Smith stated that lawsuit abuse has become too common in American society partly because the lawyers who bring these cases have everything to gain and nothing to lose. He noted that plaintiffs’ lawyers can file frivolous suits, no matter how absurd the claims, without any penalty. Meanwhile, defendants are faced with choosing between years of litigation, with its attendant high court costs and attorney’s fees, or settling. Mr. Smith noted that our legal system encourages frivolous lawsuits while defendants are left paying the price even when they are innocent. Mr. Smith said that many of these cases have cost innocent people and business owners their reputations and hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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