Senate Judiciary Committee
Brendan Bunnell 271-4063
HB 1384, relative to prohibiting foreign adversary persons or foreign entities of concern from financing lawsuits.
Hearing Date: April 28, 2026
Time Opened: 1:10 p.m. Time Closed: 1:14 p.m.
Members of the Committee Present: Senators Gannon, Altschiller and Reardon
Members of the Committee Absent: Senators Abbas and Carson
Bill Analysis: This bill prohibits foreign adversary persons or foreign entities of concern from financing lawsuits.
Sponsors:
Rep. Cole | Rep. Aures | Rep. Kesselring |
Rep. Kofalt | Rep. Ouellet | Rep. Post |
Rep. Wood | Rep. Hunt | Sen. Birdsell |
Sen. Gannon | Sen. Reardon |
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Who supports the bill: Representative Brian Cole, Representative Mary Murphy, Cam Lapine, Lindsay Nadeau, Kierstan Schultz and Howard Handler.
Who opposes the bill: Representative Timothy Horrigan and Tami Lanzillo Zeimetz.
Who is neutral on the bill: None.
Summary of the testimony presented:
Representative Brian Cole introduced the bill, explaining that it would prevent foreign entities from involving themselves in New Hampshire’s legal system. He explained that it was undesirable for individuals from countries like China or Russia to become involved in a financing lawsuit and to see potentially sensitive materials via the process of discovery.
- He explained that more than half of the states in the country had enacted similar Third Party Litigation Financing guardrails, and that this bill would bring New Hampshire in line with that example.
Representative Timothy Horrigan spoke in opposition to the bill. He explained that there had been prior issues concerning the process around the bill, and that the current text was the result of a last minute replace-all amendment.
- He stated that the belief in the rule of law and that all individuals should have access to the courts was what set the United States apart from the countries prohibited by the bill.
- He stated that there may be situations in which individuals from those countries may have legitimate concern. The representative stated that while China was a very oppressive country, they were by no means monolithic and were also very good at the practice of capitalism despite being run by a communist party. He expressed concern around shutting that country out of the legal process and stated that they may do the same to Americans.
- He explained that Nicholas Maduro’s regime in Venezuela was also listed in the prohibited countries, and that he was uncertain if that regime was still in power given the capture and imprisonment of Maduro.
- He argued that while the bill possessed some merit, it was not ready to be passed in this current form.
BMB
Date Hearing Report completed: May 1, 2026