Jury Trial Procedures
03-Jan-2011
Committee Action:
Yesterday was a long day in the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee.
HB 2031 would create a “voluntary compensation plan” where a defendant facing multiple claims could post a matrix of compensation for claimants and abate all discovery from 90 to 180 days. If a claimant refuses the compensation offer made by the defendant, the defendant could recover all its fees and expenses from the claimant if the claimant recovers less at trial (under most circumstances). While a claimant’s attorney’s contingent fee would be capped at 5% if the claimant participated in the plan, the defendant’s attorneys fees are not capped, and as stated above, can be recovered from the claimant. The bill, written by Texans for Lawsuit Reform, was heard yesterday in the House Judiciary and Civil jurisprudence Committee. TLR gave testimony in favor while groups as diverse as the Texas Association of Defense Counsel, Texas Trial Lawyers Association, Tex-Abota Education and Legislative Foundation, and Texas Watch testified against the bill. The bill was left pending, but the bill sponsor vowed to work on some and issues and bring the bill back up for committee action.
Yesterday, the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee also heard several barratry bills. The bills, packaged by Texans for Lawsuit Reform and the Texas Civil Justice League, would, among other things, subject barrators and those who ought to know what they are doing to joint and several liability, punitive damages, treble damages and require no proof of actual damages. TLR and TCJL came under intense fire from committee members during testimony for creating new causes of action for questionable damages. The bills were left pending.
Members are encouraged to contact their local reps and senators to discuss bills of interest. Members are also encouraged to attend legislative hearings and participate actively in the legislative process.
Bill Would Allow Public/Private Alliance to Build New Travis County Civil Courthouse; Intent is to encourage civic development and relieve financial burden on taxpayers; SB 1048 by Paxton would allow broad new authority to governmental entities, like Travis County, to enter into public/private relationships for projects such as schools, water supply facilities and public buildings. The bill’s stated intent is to encourage and foster governmental flexibility in joining with the private sector in a manner that would be advantageous to the taxpayer.
Should the bill pass, Travis County would have the option to enter into a public/private relationship to build a new civil courthouse on Republic Square without necessarily having to call a bond election and presumably with significantly less taxpayer burden. A multi-use public/private facility might also go a long way in alleviating concerns expressed by some critics that a new downtown courthouse could become an urban dead zone after hours.
For a complete analysis of the bill, please see attached.
Thanks to Austin Bar President David Whittlesey and committee member Amy Welborn for their contributions to this report.
The Austin Bar Legislative Update is membership benefit of the Austin Bar Association
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