The House passed legislation on Thursday to require judges to impose monetary sanctions against lawyers who file baseless lawsuits.
The bill, passed 241-185, would further require that victims of lawsuits deemed to be baseless receive compensation for any injury resulting from the litigation.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte
Robert (Bob) William GoodlatteBottom line No documents? Hoping for legalization? Be wary of Joe Biden Press: Trump's final presidential pardon: himself MORE (R-Va.) said imposing the mandatory sanctions would discourage people from filing frivolous lawsuits he described as "extortionary."
“Those who file frivolous lawsuits would no longer be able to get off scot-free, and therefore they couldn’t get away with those sorts of extortionary threats any longer,” Goodlatte said.
Democrats warned that the measure would ultimately increase litigation since it would create a financial incentive.
“It’ll clog the courts with unnecessary litigation, cost money, make it more difficult to get your cases disposed of. It’s just unnecessary,” said Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.).
The White House issued a veto threat against the bill, calling it “unnecessary and counterproductive.”
The legislation is opposed by multiple legal organizations, including the American Bar Association and the Judicial Conference of the United States.
