House File 2435 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2435 BY AMOS JR. , KURTH , SCHOLTEN , FORBES , CROKEN , BAGNIEWSKI , STAED , MADISON , and ABDUL-SAMAD A BILL FOR An Act relating to court records of actions that have been 1 found to be frivolous and actions for slander or libel. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 5744YH (4) 90 cm/jh

H.F. 2435 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 624B.1 Expungement —— sealing of 1 court records. 2 1. In an action that has been found to be frivolous or 3 an action for slander or libel, the court shall enter an 4 order sealing the court records of the action not later than 5 three days from the date of the hearing, or from the date the 6 hearing would have been held as provided by law, if any of the 7 following occurs: 8 a. The defendant is found not liable. 9 b. By motion or upon the court’s own determination, the 10 court finds there is no genuine issue of material fact between 11 the parties. 12 c. The court dismisses the plaintiff’s claim. 13 d. The plaintiff withdraws the claim. 14 e. The plaintiff does not appear for the hearing. 15 f. Both parties consent to the order. 16 2. Upon application of a defendant who was found liable 17 in an action for slander or libel, the court shall enter an 18 order sealing the record of the action, the existence of the 19 petition, all filings and documentation within the case file, 20 and any associated writs of execution, if all of the following 21 conditions are met: 22 a. More than three years have passed since the date of the 23 finding of liability. 24 b. The applicant has not been found liable in a subsequent 25 action for slander or libel in the three-year period directly 26 preceding the application. 27 c. The applicant has not previously been granted a sealing 28 of a finding of liability under this chapter within ten years 29 prior to the application. 30 3. The application to seal the record of the action shall be 31 included in the record the defendant wishes to seal, using a 32 form prescribed by the supreme court. 33 4. Upon sealing, the existence of the petition, all filings 34 and documentation within the case file, and any associated 35 -1- LSB 5744YH (4) 90 cm/jh 1/ 3

H.F. 2435 writs of execution shall be removed from any publicly 1 accessible location under the direction of the judicial branch 2 or county, as applicable. Notwithstanding chapter 22, records 3 sealed upon satisfaction of the requirements specified in this 4 section shall not be available for public inspection except as 5 provided in subsection 5. 6 5. The clerk of court in the county in which an action is 7 originated shall maintain a record in the aggregate of all 8 filings and the final disposition of any such actions, to 9 include dismissal, default judgment, and writs associated with 10 disposition. The clerk of court shall make available to the 11 public and report annually such aggregate information in such 12 a manner prescribed by the supreme court as to protect the 13 identity of the parties while still providing the public with 14 information regarding eviction proceedings in the county. 15 6. Upon sealing, the clerk of court shall not disclose the 16 existence of, or information regarding, an action that has been 17 found to be frivolous or an action for slander or libel sealed 18 or made confidential under this section. 19 EXPLANATION 20 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 21 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 22 This bill relates to sealing court records of an action that 23 has been found to be frivolous or an action for slander or 24 libel. 25 The bill provides that a court shall seal the court records 26 of an action that has been found to be frivolous or an action 27 for slander or libel not later than three days from the date 28 of the hearing if any of the following have occurred: the 29 defendant is found not liable, the court finds there is no 30 genuine issue of material fact between the parties or dismisses 31 the plaintiff’s claim, the plaintiff withdraws the claim, the 32 plaintiff does not appear for the hearing, or if by consent of 33 both parties. 34 The bill provides that upon application of a defendant found 35 -2- LSB 5744YH (4) 90 cm/jh 2/ 3

H.F. 2435 liable in an action for slander or libel, the court shall 1 seal the court records if more than three years have passed 2 since disposition, the applicant has not been found liable in 3 subsequent slander or libel action in the three-year period 4 preceding the application, and the applicant within the last 10 5 years has not been granted a sealing of an action for slander 6 or libel. The application to seal shall be included in the 7 sealed court records. 8 The bill provides that upon sealing of court records, 9 all filings, documentation, and writs of association shall 10 be removed from any publicly accessible location. Court 11 records sealed shall not be available for public inspection. 12 However, the clerk of court in the county in which an action 13 is originated shall maintain a record in the aggregate of all 14 filings and make such information available to the public in 15 such a manner prescribed by the supreme court as to protect the 16 identity of the parties while still providing the public with 17 information relating to an action that has been found to be 18 frivolous or for slander or libel in the county. 19 The bill provides that upon sealing the clerk of court shall 20 not disclose the existence of, or information regarding, an 21 action for slander or libel or other civil action sealed or 22 made confidential under the bill. 23 -3- LSB 5744YH (4) 90 cm/jh 3/ 3