Texans for Lawsuit Reform

Through political action, legal, academic and market research, and grassroots initiatives, TLR fights for common-sense reforms that keep Texas open for business.

  • About TLR
    • Our Mission
    • Our Team
    • Timeline of Reforms
  • Videos
  • Issues
  • Resource Center
    • Special Reports
    • In the News
    • Press Releases
    • The Advocate
    • TLR Blog: For the Record
  • Get Involved
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Invite a TLR Speaker
  • Donate
  • Stay Informed
For the Record

Ensuring Texans Have Access to Courts

We speak often about the mushrooming cost of litigation, both in terms of time and money. The fact is that for many Texans, hiring a lawyer is expensive, and quite often, cases are too risky or too time consuming for the average person to pursue.

This has effectively shut a large swath of Texans out of the court system. It’s also the reason why we’ve seen a rise in alternative dispute resolution mechanisms like mediation and arbitration. They’ve become a necessity for those who simply cannot afford to pursue litigation through the traditional court system.

We at TLR think there is a better way. And this session, the Legislature is poised to improve access to the courts for every Texan through two pieces of legislation, Senate Bill 2342 and House Bill 3336.

These bills expand on successful procedures that Texas has already implemented to expedite civil lawsuits. That means more lawsuits can be resolved quicker and at less expense.

For example, justice of the peace courts handle civil cases with less than $10,000 in controversy. These courts handle caseloads quickly, use informal procedures and don’t require a lawyer, making them easily accessed by Texans. SB 2342 and HB 3336 expand their maximum jurisdiction to $20,000, allowing more Texans to take advantage of justice of the peace courts to get a quick resolution of a relatively small dispute. 

Many of Texas’ larger counties have courts called county courts at law. They were designed to be a step between JP courts, which handle small civil cases, and district courts, which handle large civil cases. The maximum civil jurisdiction for most county courts at law is $200,000. These bills raise the standard maximum jurisdictional limit to $250,000, again expanding the pool of cases that can be heard in these courts. 

Following the 2011 legislative session, the Texas Supreme Court set rules for expedited proceedings in civil cases with less than $100,000 in controversy, including attorney’s fees. Because attorney’s fees are included and often exceed the amount of damages in a small civil case, the $100,000 limitation is often too restrictive. SB 2342 and HB 3336 raise the limit to $250,000—excluding attorney’s fees—to make expedited case procedure available in more lawsuits.  

While most county courts at law can only hear cases with up to $200,000 in controversy, a few counties in Texas have county courts at law with unlimited civil jurisdiction. They can hear the same civil cases as the district courts in those counties. The difference is that the parties are entitled to a 12-person jury in district court, but only a six-person jury in a county court at law. Smaller juries tend to hand down more inconsistent and aberrational decisions, both high and low. These bills allow any party to a case with more than $250,000 in controversy to demand that the case be presented to 12 jurors rather than six. 

We believe these bills make good and important changes to the legal system that will help ensure Texans of all backgrounds can access the courts.

Follow us on Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

23 hours ago

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

In case you missed it - 15 Harris County judges resolved fewer felony cases during the pandemic, and all 23 courts have more pending cases now than when the COVID epidemic began. As of March, there were over 48,000 pending active cases in Criminal District Court. Read and share: bit.ly/3yeuPc7 ... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

'Do your job,' victim tells judge in Harris County's slowest court

bit.ly

Fifteen judges resolved fewer felony cases during the pandemic and all 23 courts have more pending cases now than when the pandemic began. Harris County Judge Ramona Franklin, of the 338th Criminal Di...
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

  • Likes: 0
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

2 days ago

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

The Dallas County DA argued a judge’s impartiality could reasonably be questioned after she lowered a defendant’s bail considerably while his defense lawyer is one of her top campaign contributors, and then raised his bail after media reports about her rulings. Read and share: bit.ly/3lfQMzM ... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Dallas judge under scrutiny for bail rulings recuses herself from cases

bit.ly

Judge Chika Anyiam, of Criminal District Court 7, recused herself Monday from 10 felony cases against Julio Guerrero. A Dallas County judge who faced public scrutiny for lowering a murder suspect’s ...
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

  • Likes: 2
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

3 days ago

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

TLR General Counsel Lee Parsley joined the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform podcast to discuss nuclear verdicts in the trucking industry and what legislators can do to ensure that excessive lawsuits don't shut down this vital industry. Listen and share: bit.ly/3wjgKJ9 ... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Nuclear Verdicts Create Litigation "Vortex" for Trucking Industry

bit.ly

In this episode of Cause for Action, Nathan Morris, senior vice president, legal reform advocacy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, is joined by Lee Parsley, the general couns...
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

  • Likes: 0
  • Shares: 1
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook


Follow us on Twitter

lawsuitreform avatarTLR@lawsuitreform·
17h 1527408930703523840

Since TLR’s founding, our supporters have made their voices heard at the Capitol by phone, e-mail, & personal visits on every issue that affects a healthy civil justice system. Make your voice heard & get involved with TLR today!

Get Involved

Texans for Lawsuit Reform has thousands of supporters from across Texas who are committed to a fair and balanced civil justice system.

bit.ly

Reply on Twitter 1527408930703523840Retweet on Twitter 1527408930703523840Like on Twitter 15274089307035238401Twitter 1527408930703523840
lawsuitreform avatarTLR@lawsuitreform·
23h 1527318698804908040

#ICYMI: 15 Harris County judges resolved fewer felony cases during the pandemic & all 23 courts have more pending cases now than when the COVID epidemic began. As of March, there were over 48,000 pending active cases in Criminal District Court. Read & RT:

'Do your job,' victim tells judge in Harris County's slowest court

Fifteen judges resolved fewer felony cases during the pandemic and all 23 courts have more pending cases now than when the pandemic began. Harris Coun...

bit.ly

Reply on Twitter 1527318698804908040Retweet on Twitter 15273186988049080402Like on Twitter 15273186988049080401Twitter 1527318698804908040
lawsuitreform avatarTLR@lawsuitreform·
18 May 1527046564635721728

Want to make a difference in the fight against lawsuit abuse? Join the TLR team today! #stoplawsuitabuse

Get Involved

Texans for Lawsuit Reform has thousands of supporters from across Texas who are committed to a fair and balanced civil justice system.

bit.ly

Reply on Twitter 1527046564635721728Retweet on Twitter 1527046564635721728Like on Twitter 1527046564635721728Twitter 1527046564635721728

Texans for Lawsuit Reform
1701 Brun Street
Houston, Texas 77019

Ph. 713-963-9363
  • About TLR
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Timeline of Reforms
  • Videos
  • Issues
  • Resource Center
  • For the Record
  • Special Reports
  • In the News
  • Press Releases
  • Invite a TLR Speaker
  • Get Involved
  • Invite a TLR Speaker
  • Donate
  • Stay Informed
  • Contact TLR

Copyright © 2022 · Texans for Lawsuit Reform. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · Texans for Lawsuit Reform.
All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy