H.R. 5477: Litigation Reimbursement Act

This bill, known as the Litigation Reimbursement Act, proposes changes to how courts handle the awarding of attorney fees in both criminal and civil cases. Below are the main provisions of the bill:

1. Criminal Cases

The bill stipulates that:

• If a criminal case goes to trial and results in a verdict that is not a conviction, the court is required to award reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation costs to the prevailing party, as long as this party is not the United States.
• This requirement applies to cases that are pending from the date the Litigation Reimbursement Act is enacted, extending the previous provisions that only covered cases up to the fiscal year 1998.

2. Civil Cases

In civil cases, the bill mandates that:

• The courts must award reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation costs to the prevailing party without regard to whether the government was vexatious, frivolous, or acted in bad faith. This replaces the prior discretionary language where such fees "may be awarded".
• Similar to the provisions in criminal cases, this will apply to any qualified case that is pending from the effective date of the bill forward.

Overall, the bill aims to shift the existing legal framework regarding the reimbursement of legal costs, ensuring that parties who prevail in non-conviction criminal trials and civil cases are granted attorneys' fees as a matter of course, rather than at the court's discretion.

Relevant Companies

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