Skip to main content
S 537 111th Congress Senate

Sunshine in Litigation Act of 2009

Official title: A bill to amend chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, relating to protective orders, sealing of cases, disclosures of discovery information in civil actions, and for other purposes.

Introduced: March 5, 2009 See on congress.gov
Law Civil actions and liabilityEvidence and witnessesFreedom of informationGovernment information and archives
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Health information and medical recordsRight of privacy
This bill died when the 111th Congress ended
It never became law before the 111th Congress (2009–2010) 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
Mar 5, 2009
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2835)
Mar 5, 2009
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2834-2835)
Mar 5, 2009
Introduced in Senate
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Latest action March 5, 2009

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2835)

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Sunshine in Litigation Act of 2009 - Amends the federal judicial code to prohibit a court from entering an order restricting the disclosure of information obtained through discovery, approving a settlement disagreement that would restrict such disclosure, or restricting access to court records in a civil case, unless the court has found that: (1) such order would not restrict the disclosure of information which is relevant to the protection of public health or safety; or (2) the public interest in the disclosure of potential health or safety hazards is outweighed by a specific and substantial interest in maintaining the confidentiality of the information, and the requested protective order is no broader than necessary to protect the privacy interest. Prohibits any party from requesting, as a condition for the production of discovery, that another party stipulate to an order that would violate this Act.

Prohibits a court from: (1) approving or enforcing an order prohibited under this Act, or any provision of an agreement between parties to a civil action, that restricts a party from disclosing information to any federal or state agency with authority to enforce laws regulating an activity relating to such information; or (2) enforcing any provision of a settlement agreement that prohibits a party from disclosing that a settlement was reached or the terms of the settlement, other than the amount paid, or from discussing a case or evidence that involves matters related to public health or safety, except where the court finds that the public interest in disclosure of potential health and safety hazards is outweighed by a confidentiality interest.

Creates a rebuttable presumption that the interest in protecting personally identifiable information relating to an individual's financial, health, or other similar information outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to permit, require, or authorize the disclosure of classified information, as defined under the Classified Information Procedures Act.

 Related & companion bills 2
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 537: Sunshine in Litigation Act of 2009. 111th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/111-S-537/
MLA
"S. 537: Sunshine in Litigation Act of 2009." 111th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/111-S-537/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 537, 111th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/111-S-537/.
Markdown link
[S. 537: Sunshine in Litigation Act of 2009](https://openamerica.io/bill/111-S-537/)
Report a problem