PRINTER'S NO. 1904
No. 1508 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY SCRIMENTI, LEACH, HENNESSEY, PISTELLA, TIGUE,
LEVDANSKY, FABRIZIO, YOUNGBLOOD, LEDERER, CRUZ, MUNDY,
SOLOBAY AND HORSEY, JUNE 3, 2003
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JUNE 3, 2003
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the
2 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for
3 confidentiality agreements in certain civil actions.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Title 42 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
7 Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
8 § 7104. Confidentiality agreements.
9 (a) General rule.--Except as otherwise provided in
10 subsection (b), in an action for injury, wrongful death or
11 financial loss caused by a defective product or environmental
12 hazard, information relating to the defective product or
13 environmental hazard may be used by any party to the action or
14 released by such party to any other person or the public if the
15 information is any of the following:
16 (1) In a confidentiality agreement not filed with the
17 court.
18 (2) In a settlement agreement not filed with the court.
1 (3) Acquired through discovery.
2 (b) Exception.--The court may order the information
3 prescribed in subsection (a) to be confidential and not to be
4 used or released by any party or parties to the action for a
5 period of time that the court deems appropriate if the court
6 finds that either of the following applies:
7 (1) The information is a trade secret or privileged.
8 (2) An overriding interest exists to keep the
9 information confidential that is greater than the right of
10 public access to the information and all of the following
11 apply:
12 (i) A substantial probability exists that the
13 overriding interest will be prejudiced if the information
14 is not kept confidential.
15 (ii) The proposed confidentiality is narrowly
16 tailored.
17 (iii) There is not a less restrictive means to
18 achieve the overriding interest.
19 (c) Certain agreements void and unenforceable.--Any portion
20 of an agreement or contract that restricts a party in an action
21 for injury, wrongful death or financial loss caused by a
22 defective product or environmental hazard from disclosing
23 information relating to the defective product or environmental
24 hazard to a governmental agency with enforcement authority over
25 the defective product or environmental hazard is void and
26 unenforceable as against public policy.
27 (d) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
28 words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
29 subsection:
30 "Defective product." A product that may cause personal
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1 injury or death because of a flaw in manufacturing or design or
2 a failure to adequately warn the consumer of a hazard involved
3 in the foreseeable use of the product if the defect may cause
4 personal injury.
5 "Environmental hazard." A release or threatened release of a
6 substance that poses a threat to public health or safety
7 involving future danger of death, bodily injury or health
8 disability of a person exposed to the substance released or
9 threatened to be released.
10 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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