Hunt introduces act protecting US firms from Russian litigation

Today, Congressman Wesley Hunt introduced The Protecting Americans from Russian Litigation Act of 2024. The bill has garnered bipartisan support with cosponsorship from members of the House Judiciary Committee: Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD), Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI), Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), and Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL).

The legislation aims to protect American companies from litigation arising due to compliance with U.S. sanctions and export controls against Russia. Unlike UK and EU laws, current U.S. federal law does not offer protections for companies complying with these measures, leaving them vulnerable to lawsuits in Russian courts.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S. government imposed numerous sanctions and export controls on Russia, leading American companies to cease operations there. This compliance has led to several lawsuits against U.S. firms in Russian courts, where large claims have been awarded against them.

U.S. companies are being targeted by Russian litigants seeking damages for good faith compliance with these sanctions, resulting in significant financial penalties under U.S. law.

"Russia's use of this Title 28 loophole to impose fines on American companies and workers is abhorrent," said Congressman Hunt, adding that "sanctions against Russia were only instituted after they made the deliberate decision to invade Ukraine."

Rep. Glenn Ivey emphasized the necessity of the bill: “This bill will ensure that American companies and workers will not be punished for good faith compliance with U.S. sanctions... Russia should not benefit from its own wrongdoing.”

Rep. Darrell Issa echoed similar sentiments: “Congress has an opportunity to close a clear loophole and establish key protections for American businesses... targeted by foreign adversaries and bad-faith litigation.”