In the News

Living through a pandemic has made us keenly aware of how important delivery and service vehicles are to our daily lives. From groceries to vaccinations, commercial vehicles have been the integral piece to getting us what we need when we need it most. Unfortunately, some personal injury lawyers have set their sights on the very businesses that are getting us through this challenging time.

Texas lawmakers on Wednesday reviewed a bill that would provide expanded liability protection to health care facilities and workers, first responders, businesses and educational institutions in coronavirus-related lawsuits, a widely supported initiative that has already been approved by the state Senate.

On Friday, Democratic activists said they welcomed Houston GOP Sen. Joan Huffman’s decision not to press forward with her plan to consolidate the state’s 14 court of appeals districts into seven.

A bill making its way through the Texas Legislature could make it more difficult for victims to reap multimillion-dollar jury verdicts against truckers in lawsuits that result in serious injury or death following a crash. The bill, HB 19, has sparked a “spirited” fight between truckers and plaintiffs’ attorneys in a state that is among the leaders in the number of crashes involving trucks and the huge jury verdicts that result in civil lawsuits.

A number of tort reform measures were heard yesterday by Texas House members, including bills on public nuisance, loser pays and paid or incurred.

“The potential exists for the lawyer and the health care provider to make money (from the civil suit) and we find that distasteful,” Lee Parsley, general counsel for Texans for Lawsuit Reform, said. Senate Bill 207 will help put an end to “enterprising” trial lawyers who collude with “unscrupulous” medical providers to inflate medical bills in hopes of greater jury awards, says the bill’s author.

“If someone wins $20 million from the jury, my insurance companies only pay the first $5 [million]. I would have to pay the next $15 million. We couldn’t afford that. We’d have to shut our doors.” Card said.

For more than two decades, executives at large corporations in Texas have quietly discussed creating their own justice system – business courts staffed with seasoned judges who have deep experience handling complex commercial disputes.

For all its dangers and challenges, the pandemic has shown that Texas courts can conduct much business online — a practice that must continue long after the coronavirus is tamed, the head of the Texas Supreme Court said Tuesday.

A pair of bills making their way through the Texas Legislature will bring much-needed and sensible reforms to a litigation system run amuck. House Bill 19 and its companion in the Senate aim to rein in excessive lawsuits that deliver big paydays for lawyers while threatening jobs for one of the state’s most important industries, and driving up insurance rates for everyone else.