Rep. Lee Introduces Bill to Raise Federal Court Lawsuit Minimum from $75,000 to $500,000
This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process after being sent to the House Committee on the Judiciary. It is actively moving through the system, but no further hearings or votes have been scheduled yet. There is no companion bill currently associated with this legislation.
While this bill aims to clear federal court backlogs, such a large increase in the dollar limit often faces strong opposition from legal groups and trial lawyers.
Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
Small businesses involved in interstate disputes worth between $75,000 and $500,000 would lose the option to file in or remove cases to federal court. Federal courts are often preferred by out-of-state defendants who worry about local bias in state courts. On the other hand, some small businesses that are plaintiffs in their home state may benefit from keeping cases in familiar state courts. The net effect depends on whether a business is typically suing or being sued across state lines.
“Section 1332(a) of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking ``$75,000'' and inserting ``$500,000''.”
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
U.S. Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL) unveiled the Federal Diversity Jurisdiction Modernization Act (H.R. 8449) to raise the diversity case threshold to $500,000. The legislation is projected to reduce the federal diversity caseload by one-third, allowing judges to focus on complex interstate disputes.
Rep. Laurel Lee filed the Federal Diversity Jurisdiction Modernization Act, which would raise the amount-in-controversy threshold for diversity cases from $75,000 to $500,000. The move accounts for inflation and seeks to address the high volume of diversity cases in Florida federal courts.
Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL) introduced the Federal Diversity Jurisdiction Modernization Act to raise the amount-in-controversy threshold from $75,000 to $500,000. The bill aims to reduce the federal court backlog, which has increased by 346% since 2004, by moving lower-value cases to state courts.
No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Federal Diversity Jurisdiction Modernization Act of 2026
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