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Minutes for HB2510 - Committee on Judiciary
Short Title
Authorizing a party to obtain discovery of the existence and content of an agreement for third-party funding of litigation under the code of civil procedure.
Minutes Content for Thu, Feb 1, 2024
Chairperson Humphries opened the continued hearing on HB2510. Natalie provided an explanation of the bill. She stood for questions. (Attachment 1)
The hearing continued with the opponent testimony.
Opponent
John Federico stated that different versions of this bill have been introduced in several states across the country and have not been passed into law. The foundation of their opposition to this bill is that they do not understand the problem in Kansas that needs to be fixed that would necessitate putting this law on the books and that what is being proposed in this bill serves little purpose other than to advantage one party in a lawsuit to the detriment of the other. Under our current judicial system, either party to the lawsuit can currently petition the judge to disclose this information. Should the judge find the information relevant to the case, the judge can order the release of such information as deemed appropriate. Mr. Federico stood for questions. (Attachment 2)
Joe McGreevy stated they have testified against this bill for three years now and will again ask the committee to not pass this bill. They continue to oppose this bill because it attempts to introduce irrelevant information into the discovery process. The forced disclosure contemplated in this bill would be immensely valuable to large corporate defendants and their insurance companies whose goal is to minimize settlements. They would know information about plaintiff’s financial position and thus willingness to settle. Mr. McGreevy stood for questions. (Attachment 3)
Opponent Written Only Testimony
Joseph Molina, Kansas Bar Association (Attachment 4)
Chairperson Humphries closed the hearing on HB2510.
