Press Releases Archive

Statement Regarding Gov. Abbott’s Appointment of Young to Texas Supreme Court

AUSTIN – Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) today issued the following statement regarding Gov. Greg Abbott’s appointment of Evan Young to the Texas Supreme Court:

“Evan Young is a highly experienced attorney whose work at the highest levels of our state and federal legal systems will bring important knowledge and skills to the Texas Supreme Court,” TLR General Counsel Lee Parsley said. “Evan is an experienced appellate lawyer, having argued complicated cases before the Texas and U.S. Supreme courts. He has honed a principled legal philosophy through a clerkship with former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and his work in Iraq as the Deputy Rule of Law Coordinator. Evan will apply the constitution and our laws as written and will become an influential jurist.”

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Statement on House Passage of HB 19

AUSTIN—The Keep Texas Trucking Coalition (KTTC) released the following statement regarding the passage of House Bill 19 by the Texas House of Representatives. The bill passed on a vote of 93 to 52, with one present, not voting. It passed on third reading on a vote of 81 to 49, with one present, not voting.

The Texas House has taken an important step to ensure our legal system provides appropriate remedies for injured Texans without allowing rampant lawsuit abuse to wreak havoc on small businesses.

Protecting Texas jobs is not a partisan issue. We are thankful for Speaker Dade Phelan’s leadership and Chairman Jeff Leach’s (R-Plano) hard and effective work in shepherding this critically important bill through this exhaustive process. We applaud Rep. Leo Pacheco (D-San Antonio) for signing on as an early coauthor of HB 19, and Rep. Eddie Lucio III (D-Brownsville) and Rep. Ina Minjarez (D-San Antonio) for their roles in bringing bipartisanship to this bill, which is important for all Texans who rely on commercial vehicles for jobs, goods and services.

Passage in the House is an important step in the legislative process. We look forward to working with the Texas Senate to ensure the bill is tightly crafted and focused. The goal of HB 19 remains now as it has always been—to ensure accident victims can be compensated fairly in our courts, and that small businesses can continue to safely operate commercial vehicles without being put out of business by frivolous and abusive litigation.

With more than 550 members spanning businesses and associations of all sizes across nearly every sector of the Texas economy, the Keep Texas Trucking Coalition is working to ensure the Texas economy, small businesses and employers are not harmed by abusive commercial vehicle litigation. For more information, please visit www.keeptexastrucking.com.

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Statement on House Passage of HB 19 on Third Reading

AUSTIN—The Keep Texas Trucking Coalition (KTTC) today released the following statement regarding the passage on third reading of House Bill 19 by the Texas House of Representatives, on a vote of 81-49:

Texas relies on commercial vehicles, and the House’s passage of HB 19 is further proof that the Texas Legislature will take common-sense steps to ensure our legal system is balanced while protecting access to the courts for those who are truly injured.

The leadership of Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) and Chairman Jeff Leach (R-Plano) produced a focused and effective bill to curb the rampant lawsuit abuses related to our state’s fleets—from repair vans to utility vehicles to 18-wheelers.

The bipartisan support for this bill, beginning with Rep. Leo Pacheco (D-San Antonio)—who signed early as a coauthor of HB 19—and extending to the Democratic members—especially Rep. Eddie Lucio III (D-San Antonio) and Rep. Ina Minjarez (D-San Antonio)—who provided feedback and important amendments and voted for the bill’s passage, reflects the broad support for a balanced, bipartisan solution by Texans across our state.

We expect the Texas Senate to quickly take up HB 19 to ensure accident victims can be compensated fairly in our courts, and that small businesses can continue to safely operate commercial vehicles without being put out of business by frivolous and abusive litigation.

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Statement by the Keep Texas Trucking Coalition on House Passage of HB 19

AUSTIN—The Keep Texas Trucking Coalition (KTTC) today released the following statement regarding the passage on second reading of House Bill 19 by the Texas House of Representatives:

The Texas House has taken an important step to ensure our legal system provides appropriate remedies for injured Texans without allowing rampant lawsuit abuse to wreak havoc on small businesses.

Protecting Texas jobs is not a partisan issue. We are thankful for Speaker Dade Phelan’s leadership and Chairman Jeff Leach’s (R-Plano) hard and effective work in shepherding this critically important bill through this exhaustive process. We applaud Rep. Eddie Lucio III (D-Brownsville) and Rep. Ina Minjarez (D-San Antonio) for their roles in bringing bipartisanship to this bill, which is important for all Texans who rely on commercial vehicles for jobs, goods and services.

Passage in the House on second reading is an important step in the legislative process. While we are concerned about the broadness of some of the provisions in HB 19, we look forward to working with the Texas Senate to ensure the bill is tightly crafted and focused. The goal of HB 19 remains now as it has always been—to ensure accident victims can be compensated fairly in our courts, and that small businesses can continue to safely operate commercial vehicles without being put out of business by frivolous and abusive litigation.

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South Texas Democratic Primary Voters Overwhelmingly Support, Trust Small Businesses over Personal Injury Trial Lawyers

Texas House expected to take up HB 19 tomorrow

AUSTIN – Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) today released the results of a poll conducted among 500 Democratic Primary voters in 17 South Texas counties from April 20-22, 2021. The poll was conducted by Ragnar Research Partners and covered all of House Districts 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41, and part of House Districts 31, 43, 74 and 80.

“Democratic Primary voters have spoken, overwhelmingly supporting and trusting Texas small businesses over personal injury trial lawyers, recognizing the value job creators and commercial vehicles provide to our state, and voting accordingly at the ballot box,” TLR Executive Director Mary Tipps said. “Good policy makes good politics, and HB 19 is good on policy and good on politics. We urge House members to vote their districts and support Texas jobs by voting for HB 19.”

House Bill 19 by Rep. Jeff Leach—which ensures Texans can hold negligent commercial vehicle operators accountable while shutting down job-killing lawsuit abuse—will be heard in the Texas House tomorrow. The bill implements common-sense measures to ensure commercial vehicle lawsuits are tried consistently and fairly across the state, like allowing photos and videos to be introduced as evidence. House Bill 19 has broad support from job creators across the economic spectrum.

A summary of the results are as follows:

66% of Democrats are less likely (40% much less likely) to vote to reelect a state legislator if the legislator accepts political contributions from personal injury trial lawyers, whereas only 12% are more likely (only 5% much more likely) to do so.
56% of respondents are less likely (29% much less likely) to vote for a candidate in a Democratic primary endorsed by personal injury trial lawyers who advertise on TV and billboards, whereas only 22% are more likely to vote for a candidate endorsed by an advertising lawyer.
78% of respondents are more likely (43% much more likely) to vote for a candidate endorsed by small business advocates in a Democratic primary, whereas only 8% are less likely.
61% of the respondents agree (30% strongly agree) that “personal injury trial lawyers file too many frivolous lawsuits,” whereas 24% disagree (10% strongly disagree).
65% believe businesses using trucks to deliver goods help working Texans more (41% strongly believe so), whereas 19% believe personal injury trial lawyers who file lawsuits against commercial vehicles help working Texans more (only 9% strongly believe so).
84% agree that trucking companies are good for the Texas economy (64% strongly agree), whereas 8% say trucking companies are dangerous and cause too many accidents.
70% believe business owners are honest and trustworthy, and 15% believe they are not.

Click here to view a summary of the poll results. For more information about TLR, please visit www.tortreform.com.

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TLR Statement on SB 17, SB 207, HB 19 and HB 1617

AUSTIN – Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) today issued the following statement regarding its efforts to end abusive lawsuits against commercial vehicle owners. Senate Bill 17 (which has been reserved by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick) and House Bill 19 will provide for consistency and uniformity in how trial courts handle commercial vehicle cases. Senate Bill 207 and House Bill 1617 are aimed at ending trial lawyer manipulation of Texas’ 2003 statute governing the submission of medical bills to a jury in a civil trial.

“Abusive commercial vehicle lawsuits are built on presenting misleading evidence to the jury—whether inflated medical bills or prejudicial evidence about a commercial vehicle operator’s conduct. We cannot expect juries to arrive at a fair decision when given misleading, extraneous and purposely prejudicial information” TLR General Counsel Lee Parsley said. “The Texas Legislature must clarify the rules for how commercial vehicle lawsuits are tried to ensure juries have the facts necessary to award fair compensation to Texans who are injured by the negligence of a defendant, that these cases are tried in a uniform and consistent manner throughout the state, and that our courtrooms are fair for all parties. We commend Lt. Gov. Patrick and Speaker Phelan for making these bills priority items, and look forward to working with all stakeholders to fix this problem this session.”

TLR Statement on 2021 State of the State

AUSTIN – Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) today issued the following statement regarding Gov. Greg Abbott’s 2021 State of the State Speech:

“Gov. Abbott’s State of the State address charts a clear course for economic and job growth as our state works to recover from the pandemic. We applaud the governor for highlighting the very real threat abusive and unnecessary COVID-19-related litigation presents for the wellbeing of Texas families and our economy,” TLR Senior Chairman Richard W. Weekley said. “Whether they relate to COVID-19 as the governor outlined, or target commercial vehicle operators as we have seen across the state, abusive lawsuits make the goods and services we need more expensive and harder to get, they kill job growth and they slow investment in our communities. We thank the governor for his leadership and hope the Texas Legislature will take quick action to address all forms of abusive litigation this session.”

Statement on Appointment of Rebeca Aizpuru Huddle to Texas Supreme Court

AUSTIN – Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) today issued the following statement regarding the appointment of Justice Rebeca Aizpuru Huddle to the Texas Supreme Court:

“The Texas Supreme Court decides the most consequential legal issues affecting our state, and requires of its judges a deep knowledge of the law, an ability to understand and analyze complex issues of law, the willingness to work hard and a steadfast commitment to applying our laws as-written. Rebeca Aizpuru Huddle exemplifies these requirements,” TLR Senior Chairman Richard W. Weekley said. “Justice Huddle is an experienced and accomplished litigator. As a judge on the First Court of Appeals, she authored more than 400 reasoned majority opinions. With more than 1,000 appeals and original proceedings adjudicated in her time on the court, Huddle has a proven track record of principled decision-making. She has also led by example in her time as a judge and as partner-in-charge of Baker Botts Houston, demonstrating a commitment to ensuring every Texan—especially the most vulnerable—has access to justice. She will be a tremendous asset to the Texas Supreme Court.”

Statement on Appointment of Bland to Texas Supreme Court

AUSTIN – Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) today issued the following statement regarding Gov. Greg Abbott’s intent to appoint Justice Jane Bland to the Texas Supreme Court:

“Throughout her more than 20 years of service as a judge—15 of those as a justice on Houston’s 1^st Court of Appeals—Jane Bland has proven an appreciation for our Constitution and the rule of law, and handled some of the most pressing issues facing our state’s courts,” TLR Senior General Counsel Hugh Rice Kelly said. “Her integrity, fairness and work ethic has won the respect of her peers and of the broader legal community. As an indication of that, she ranked first in the 2018 State Bar Judicial Preference Poll and the 2018 Houston Bar Association Judicial Preference Poll among all judges. Justice Bland, with her extensive experience and legal brilliance, will be an excellent addition to our state’s highest court.”

Statement on Senate Passage of HB 2826

AUSTIN – Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) issued the following statement regarding the Senate passage of House Bill 2826 by Rep. Greg Bonnen and sponsored by Sen. Joan Huffman, which brings transparency into contingency fee legal contracts with local governments.

“House Bill 2826 gives Texas taxpayers transparency, consistency and accountability when local governments hire private attorneys on a contingency fee basis to handle government litigation,” TLR General Counsel Lee Parsley said. “The passage of HB 2826 by the Senate ensures local governments will get quality legal services at a reasonable rate that allows them to keep more of their potential awards, and we look forward to seeing it on the governor’s desk.”