A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this month would require the disclosure of parties receiving payment in civil lawsuits.

HR 1109, The Litigation Transparency Act of 2025, was introduced by Republican representatives Darrell Issa of California, Scott Fitzgerald of Wisconsin, and Mike Collins from Georgia.

Issa is chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet. 

Litigation reform is of keen interest to the trucking industry, as motor carriers are increasingly the targets of plaintiff lawyers.

In hundreds of cases every year and in greater frequency, civil litigation is being funded by undisclosed third-party interests as an investment for return, explained Issa in a news release — including from hedge funds, commercial lenders, and sovereign wealth funds operating through shell companies.

The bill would require disclosure of investors receiving payment based on the outcome of a case. 

'Exploiting Loopholes for Financial Gain'

“Our legislation targets serious and continuing abuses in our litigation system that distort our system of justice by obscuring public detection and exploiting loopholes in the law for financial gain,” Issa said.

“We fundamentally believe that if a third-party investor is financing a lawsuit in federal court, it should be disclosed rather than hidden from the world and left absent from the facts of a case.”  

Fitzgerald said when he was a state legislator in Wisconsin, he helped usher in laws to mandate such disclosure.

“This ensured parties were aware of all stakeholders who had a financial interest in the outcome of litigation.”

Rep. Collins added, “I have been advocating for tort reform for years and will continue the fight to ensure that lawsuits are fair and not driven by hidden third-party investors.”

Trucking, Business, Insurance Groups Applaud Litigation Reform Bill

Several business and trucking groups offered support of the bill, including the American Trucking Associations.

“When the plaintiffs’ bar perverts civil litigation into a casino game of ‘jackpot justice,’ the costs are borne by everyone — not just trucking companies, but consumers too in the form of higher insurance rates and higher prices for goods, said ATA senior vice president of legislative affairs Henry Hanscom.

“The secretive nature of these predatory loans can even surprise plaintiffs when they learn they must pay back the lenders at usurious rates… This reasonable reform would protect hardworking truck drivers and ensure justice and fairness drive accident litigation outcomes, not profits.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the legislation “will help protect the integrity of our judicial system by ensuring that outside financiers are not secretly directing or profiting from litigation they are funding.”

Several insurance groups praised the bill. 

For instance, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies said, “Frivolous and excessive litigation driven by investors has raised costs for Americans across the country, including the cost of insurance. When disputes end up in court, all the relevant parties should know everyone involved on each side.”