Keep Texas' Ports and Waterways Open

This site describes the efforts of citizens of Texas to restore balance and fairness to the Texas civil justice system. Long considered the lawsuit capital of the world, Texas citizens finally demanded reforms. Texas tort reform has won reasonable, bi-partisan reforms in recent years. Leo E. Linbeck, Jr., Dick Weekley, Richard J. Trabulsi, Jr., Allan Shivers, Jr., Hugh Rice Kelly and Michael S. Stevens lead this organization. Founded on principles of solid research, grassroots advocacy and bi-partisan cooperation, more than a dozen tort reform measures have been enacted since 1995. These measures and the ongoing effort of Texans for Lawsuit Reform are defined on this site. TLR has also helped scrutinize the legal fees associated with the Texas tobacco settlement.

Recent News

Texas trial lawyers spend millions in 2008 cycle to support Democratic candidates

Southeast Texas Record, Nov. 24, 2008

Personal injury trial lawyers poured millions of dollars into Texas elections this cycle, including more than $6 million to front groups and the Texas Democratic Party, a grass roots organization reported Nov. 24.

( categories: News Articles )

Proposition 12 a winner five years later

Star-Telegram, Oct. 1, 2008

Five years ago, Texas voters adopted Proposition 12, the constitutional amendment ratifying the cap on noneconomic damages in lawsuits against doctors that the Texas Legislature established in House Bill 4.

( categories: News Articles | News Archive - 2008 )

The Tort Bar's Comeback

Wall Street Journal, September 16, 2008

As voters mull the stakes in this year's election, here's an issue that ought to ring alarms in the ears of serious people: tort reform. After 20 years of state and federal efforts to reform a runaway legal system, the trial bar is reviving the monster.

( categories: News Articles )

The TLR Story

Click here to view the video

What's the Problem?

Starting in 2003, dredging companies began to experience an explosion of personal injury lawsuits. In fact, almost 60 percent of all the personal injury lawsuits against dredgers nationwideÂ that wereÂ filed in just four South Texas counties - Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Zapata. This lawsuit explosion increased liability costs by as much as 300 percent for some Texas dredging companies, pushing up the price of dredging projects dramatically.

Dredging projectsÂ were cancelled in Port Mansfield and at the Port of Brownsville.

Why Every Texan Should Be Concerned

Texas ports and waterways are key drivers of the Texas economy. They produce $178 billion in annual sales, a million Texas jobs, $5 billion in state and local taxes and 10 percent of the Texas Gross State Product.

How Do We Fix It?

State Rep. Corbin Van Arsdale, R-Houston, and Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, proposed legislation to close the loophole in Texas law that has caused the explosion of lawsuits against the dredging industry. This legislation, passed by the legislature and signed by the governor,Â is critical to keep Texas ports and waterways open.

Wall Street Journal, February 27, 2007

When Texas plaintiffs' lawyer Anthony Buzbee gave a provocative address last year to maritime defense attorneys in Lake Las Vegas, Nev., he says he had no idea that an audience member about 20 feet away from him was taping the speech.

By Melissa McEver
March 28, 2007
McAllen Monitor

PORT MANSFIELD ï¿½ When federal officials divvy up funds to maintain Texasï¿½ shipping channels and its intracoastal waterway, the small fishing village of Port Mansfield is inevitably last in line.

Op-Ed By By State Rep. Corbin Van Arsdale
Houston Chronicle
April 22, 2007

An unusual and dangerous loophole in Texas law allows maritime workers to file a state lawsuit in the county where they live. Other personal injury lawsuits in our state must be filed in the county where the injury took place or in the county where the defendant does business. This exception, which is not allowed in any other state or in federal lawsuits, has resulted in a dramatic increase in maritime lawsuits in four South Texas counties Starr, Hidalgo, Cameron, and Zapata.

South Texas Ports in the Throes of Lawsuit Woes
Port Isabel Press, April 10, 2007
by Logan Hawkes

A rash of lawsuits filed in South Texas has port officials in Brownsville, Port Isabel and other ports of call concerned that legal battles between trail lawyers and dredging companies could spell disaster for the Texas shipping industry, a measure that would cost the local ports and the state-at-large thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in port revenues.

Lawsuit loophole damages Texas dredging industry
The Beaumont Enterprise, April 10, 2007
Op-Ed by William Hanson

Unfortunately, the strength of this vital part of our stateï¿½s economy currently is threatened by an explosion of lawsuits against dredging companies in four South Texas counties.

Read more...

Bill to close lawsuit loophole passes Texas House
TLR Press Release, April 25, 2007

(Austin, Texas) Texans for Lawsuit Reform joined with Texas ports and the maritime industry, including every dredging company doing business in Texas, to applaud the passage of CSHB 1602, introduced by Rep. Corbin Van Arsdale, R-Houston. The bill will close a loophole in Texas venue law that has resulted in an explosion of lawsuits against the dredging industry in South Texas.

Dredging Claims and the Valley - A Plaintiff's Perspective

Anthony Buzbee is one of the major plaintiff's attorneys filing lawsuits in Texas' Rio Grande Valley against dredging companies. Buzbee attended the Annual Marine and Energy Seminar in Henderson, Nevada on May 28 - 31, 2006. More than 100 domestic and international marine and energy underwriters, brokers, agents, claims professionals, contractors, surveyors, adjusters, and defense and plaintiff's attorneys also attended.

Due to the current litigation issues in the Valley, a portion of the seminar focused on the issues dredging companies face. Experts from various fields participated in a roundtable discussion to explore options that may be available to better deal with the growing number of lawsuits being filed in the Valley.

Buzbee's talk entitled, "Dredging Claims and the Valley - A Plaintiff's Perspective" was presented at the Lake Las Vegas Ritz Carlton on May 30.

Visit this page to hear 9 audio clips from Buzbee's speech, download a transcript of the speech and read an article from the Wall Street Journal about the speech.

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