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HR 417 103th Congress House

Securities Private Enforcement Reform Act

Official title: To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in order to reform private enforcement of the Federal securities laws, and for other purposes.

Introduced: March 16, 1993 See on congress.gov
Finance and Financial Sector Civil actions and liabilityClass actions (Civil procedure)Conflict of interestsFrivolous lawsuits
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Legal ethicsLegal feesLiability (Law)Limitation of actionsSecuritiesSecurities fraudSecurities regulation
This bill died when the 103rd Congress ended
It never became law before the 103rd Congress (1993–1994) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jan 28, 1993
Referred to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance.
Jan 5, 1993
Introduced in House
Jan 5, 1993
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
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 Latest action January 28, 1993

Referred to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Securities Private Enforcement Reform Act - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to declare that a defendant may be liable jointly and severally for damages in an implied private action only if the trier of fact specifically determines that the defendant knowingly engaged in securities fraud. Sets forth a liability allocation scheme to determine the percentage of responsibility among the defendants if the trier of fact finds that the defendant did not engage in knowing securities fraud.

Prescribes guidelines for the award of reasonable fees and expenses incurred by the prevailing party in any implied private action.

Declares that in any implied right of action that is certified as a plaintiff class action: (1) the share that is awarded to the representative plaintiff shall be calculated in the same manner as the share awarded to all other members of the plaintiff class; (2) a party may not be represented by any attorney who owns or has a beneficial interest in the securities that are the subject of the litigation, or who is obligated to pay remuneration to a third party for assistance in obtaining the representation of any party to the action; and (3) funds disgorged as a result of Securities and Exchange Commission action shall not be distributed as payment for attorneys' fees or expenses incurred by private parties seeking distribution of the disgorged funds.

Sets a statute of limitations on private rights of action under this Act.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 417: Securities Private Enforcement Reform Act. 103rd Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/103-HR-417/
MLA
"H.R. 417: Securities Private Enforcement Reform Act." 103rd Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/103-HR-417/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 417, 103rd Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/103-HR-417/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 417: Securities Private Enforcement Reform Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/103-HR-417/)
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