‘Following an embattled debate Saturday, state Rep. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, was able to quickly move House Bill 274, dubbed the “Loser Pays” bill, out of the House and into the Senate, but the road was not an easy one.
“I’m very pleased,” Creighton said. “I’ve been working on this bill for several months.”
HB 274, Creighton said, provides tort reform that “will reduce frivolous or junk lawsuits against individuals and businesses.” Provisions in the bill require the party on the losing end of a lawsuit to pay attorney’s fees and costs, reform Creighton believes will put an end to frivolous lawsuits.
But there’s a problem with this bill, said Nancy McCoy, a Conroe-based business litigation lawyer.
“The right people don’t always win,” she said. “It’s just a bad idea. It’s one of those things that seems like it would be a good idea until you think about it. Sometimes people don’t win and it’s not their fault. Sometimes they should win, whether it’s the lawyer or the justice system or other reasons that are not in their control, sometimes the person in the right loses.”
McCoy said that a law such as this could prevent someone from filing a legitimate lawsuit.
“In my opinion, it can keep people from seeking the rights they’re entitled to under the Constitution and under the laws of the State of Texas. It puts people in a terrible position, and I think it’s a dreadfully bad idea,” she said.
The catalyst for the bill, said Creighton, who has more than 80 co-authors on HB 274, was conversations with his constituents.
“As an attorney myself and someone that is in business, I’ve been both a plaintiff and a defendant. I talked to a lot of my constituents and found out that many of them have had a difficult time with frivolous and nuisance lawsuits. We’ve made some substantial changes to the personal injury and malpractice side of things, and I wanted to expand that effort and find some solutions that would help to avoid these type of lawsuits,” Creighton said.
Last Thursday evening, it appeared as though the bill had lost steam when Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, called a point-of-order, stopping all discussion of HB 274. Following that move, Gov. Rick Perry listed the bill as an emergency item Friday, and the bill was heard Saturday morning.
“I applaud the House and Rep. Brandon Creighton’s leadership for moving Texas one step closer to implementing a loser pays system that will help expedite legitimate legal claims and crack down on junk lawsuits,” Perry said. “This legislation will also protect Texas jobs and stimulate economic opportunity by relieving Texans and employers of the costs and burdens created by frivolous and drawn-out lawsuits. I encourage the Senate to quickly take action on this important legislation.”
The debate over HB 274 was heated, according to Creighton.
“It was a really contested issue among the Democrats,” he said. “More specifically, it was a combative issue for Democratic trial lawyers. About 37 Democrats walked out of the chamber.”
HB 274 now has to pass in the Senate.
“I spent about an hour (Tuesday) in the Senate talking to Senator Joan Huffman (R-Houston), who will be carrying the bill over there. She’ll be talking with the other senators to review the provisions from the bill. I have high hopes we’ll be able to get it passed,” Creighton said.
Austin, TX– Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) groups from across Texas joined Governor Perry, lawmakers and several Texas employers today to mark “Reform Works Day” at the Capitol. The group urged lawmakers to protect legal reforms that have helped millions of Texans and to ward off relentless efforts to undermine reform or create new ways to sue. Legal reforms are widely credited with creating and retaining jobs, allowing small employers to flourish, dramatically improving access to health care -- especiall in underserved areas of the state.
“Texas once had the biggest lawsuit abuse problem in the nation. Personal injury lawyers flocked here and bragged that they could win big money in Texas courts,” said Cliff Collier, chairman of CALA of Central Texas. “Common sense reforms worked to restore justice in our courts. But the fight to protect this progress never ends. Today, we’re linking arms with our colleagues and state leaders to stop those intent on abusing the legal system. Reform only works if we protect it. ”
As evidence of the need for continued vigilance, CALA points to some 900 pieces of legislation filed during the last legislative session that would have created new ways to sue or undermined current laws designed to curb lawsuit abuse.
CALA welcomed Governor Rick Perry, Chairman Todd Hunter, Representative Connie Scott, Representative Paul Workman and other lawmakers at today’s Reform Works! Breakfast. “The leadership of our elected officials and the commitment of more than 25,000 CALA supporters statewide is the reason we can talk about how Reform Works for Texas,” said Bob Parker, Chairman of Bay Area Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse in Corpus Christi.
“Legal reforms passed in Texas allow employers to feel more comfortable doing business here.” said Bobby Jenkins, a long-time champion of legal reform and the owner of ABC Services, a family-owned home services business in Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and College Station. “It’s not that we don’t get sued, but the courts and court proceedings seem more predictable and more fair.” He continued, “Texas has become a place where businesses want to be – and that means more jobs and a stronger economy. And jobs are really what drive our communities to be successful.”
Beyond his company, Jenkins described the impact of lawsuit abuse on Texas families: “The threat of a frivolous lawsuit can keep me up at night because abusive lawsuits don’t just affect me personally, they threaten the people who work for my company and who depend on their job to provide for themselves and their families.”
Texas is now a leader in the lawsuit reform movement and the resulting benefits to Texans are undeniable, according to Michelle Martin with CALA Houston. Thanks to the reforms passed since 1995, Texas has added almost a half a million permanent jobs, according to an economic study by The Perryman Group. That same study credited a reformed legal climate with a more than a more than $100 billion increase in annual spending and with the fact that more than 400,000 Texans have been added to the ranks of those with health insurance.
“Fighting lawsuit abuse all of these years has taught us that we can’t take our progress for granted,” Martin said. “Our ‘Reform Works Day’ shines a spotlight on the important benefits of legal reform and reminds our lawmakers that we must fight any attempt to return Texas to the days when lawsuit abuse ruled this state.”
“Texans agree that legal reforms are worth protecting,” added Linda McKenna with Rio Grande Valley CALA. Citing a recent statewide survey released by Texans Against Lawsuit Abuse, McKenna said that “nearly 80 percent of Texas voters – from across party lines – believe the Legislature should protect reforms designed to reduce abusive lawsuits. The majority of Texas voters surveyed believe that lawsuit reforms have helped increase access to health care, injected fairness in our courts, and helped attract employers and jobs to the Lone Star State.”
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