Guv wants the Legislature to pass new lawsuit limits in the upcoming session.
Autumn and cooler temperatures may have arrived where you live, but things are heating up in Austin, the capital city of Texas. A new push for another wave of lawsuit limits is on the horizon. The legislature convenes in January.
Said the Guv: “Our 2003 medical lawsuit reforms improved patient access and the supply of medical professionals across our state, but more is needed to restrain frivolous lawsuits and personal injury lawyers.” “Despite the significant lawsuit reforms passed earlier this decade, Texans and Texas employers are still hit with frivolous lawsuits that cost thousands or even millions of dollars in legal fees to defend. It is time to introduce a higher degree of balance and accountability into our legal system.”
Perry is proposing a four-point approach that will limit lawsuits and bring “greater accountability and efficiency to our judicial system:”
• Loser Pays for Frivolous Lawsuits: If a court determines that a lawsuit is groundless or a jury determines a suit is frivolous, then the plaintiff should be required to pay the defendant’s attorney’s fees.
• Early Dismissal for Frivolous Lawsuits: Forty-two states and the federal courts already have this mechanism in place for the early dismissal of clearly frivolous lawsuits. If a lawsuit is frivolous, Texas judges should be able to dismiss the case immediately before the legal bills pile up and the trial court should award attorney fees to the defendant.
• Legislature Determines New Causes of Action: Texas judges should not be permitted to create a cause of action from the bench. We should require the legislature to explicitly state when they are creating a new cause of action in statute, forcing courts to read statutes strictly, and providing only those rights and remedies the legislature intended.
• Increased Access to Courts for Legitimate Claims: The court system should be more accessible to Texans with legitimate claims without the incurred costs associated with a drawn out trial. Lawsuits with claims between $10,000 and $100,000 should have expedited trial settings and limited discovery in order to get litigants in and out of the court quickly and allow swifter recovery for damages.
The press release further states: “With these reforms in place, a lawsuit would get quick review by a judge and either be tossed for its frivolous nature, expedited because of its small size, or directed through the traditional track of litigation. These reforms would further improve the legal climate in our state, further stimulate our economy and ratchet up the fairness of our system.”
To read the entire news release, visit: http://www.rickperry.org/release/gov-perry-we-need-increased-accountability-efficiency-our-legal-system