It may not feel like it, but the numbers are down. By the time of the bill filing deadline last week, 7,269 bills and resolutions had been filed, which is about 5,000 less than last session.
Nevertheless, there are buckets of bills and resolutions that have been filed that directly affect torts, insurance, courts, causes of action, and the civil justice system. Here’s what to keep an eye on.
H.B. 274 by Creighton and S.B. 13 by Huffman (“loser pays,” interlocutory appeals of controlling questions of law, motion to dismiss procedures, expediting claims under $100,000, and prohibiting implied causes of action).
HB referred to House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence on March 14, 2011.
SB referred to Senate State Affairs on March 14, 2011.
Note: this is the Guv’s tort reform package.
H.B. 2661 by Kleinschmidt (offer of settlement)
Relating to settlement of certain civil action.
3/9/11 Note: this is a one-sided loser’s pay bill.
S.B. 1784 by Huffman (statutory employer)
Relating to workers’ compensation insurance coverage for certain workplaces; providing administrative penalties.
filed 3/11/11: not yet referred. Note: extends workers compensation immunity to everyone performing services on worksite if certain conditions are met.
HB 958 by Workman (Damages Arising Out of a Deficiency in the Construction or Repair of an Improvement to Real Property) (Companion Bill: SB 561)
Referred to House Committee on Business and Industry on February 28, 2011.
Note: creates a diminishing statute of repose in construction defect cases by reducing the amount of recoverable actual damages by 10% per year from date of substantial completion.
HB 1427 by Lewis (Repeal of Statute Authorizing Joinder of Responsible Third Parties) (Companion Bill: SB 1207)
HB Referred to House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence on March 1, 2011.
SB filed on March 7, 2011. Not yet referred to committee.
Note: seeks to repeal section 33.004(e) of the Civil Practices & Remedies Code, which allows a claimant to join as a defendant a person designated as a responsible third party within 60-days after such designation even if such joinder would otherwise be barred by limitations.
H.B. 2031 by Madden (voluntary compensation plan)
Relating to the establishment of a voluntary compensation plan as an alternative to litigation.
Companion: S.B. 21 by Williams
Referred to Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence
Note: creates a mechanism for a potentially liable person to establish a voluntary compensation fund with respect to claims involving an event or product that causes at least two deaths, bodily injury to at least five persons, or damage to real property owned by at least five people. Sanctions against claimants who recover less at trial than settlement offered by plan under certain circumstances.
Filed on March 11, 2011. Not yet referred to committee.
Note: renders voidable any contract for legal services if the contract is procured by barratry.
H.B. 620 by Fletcher (barratry)
Relating to liability for contracts for legal services procured as the result of certain prohibited acts.
Referred to Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence
H.B. 1890 by Fletcher (barratry)
Relating to the offense of prohibited barratry and solicitation, liability for contingent fee contracts for legal services, and attorney general prosecution of certain offenses.
Referred to Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence
HB 2163 by Scott (Including Barratry as a Deceptive Trade Practice)
Referred to House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence on March 8, 2011.
Note: adds “committing an act of barratry” to the laundry list of “false, misleading, or deceptive acts or practices” in section 17.46(b) of the Business and Commerce Code (“DTPA”).
H.B. 681 by Kleinschmidt (guns in the workplace)
Relating to an employee’s transportation and storage of certain firearms or ammunition while on certain property owned or controlled by the employee’s employer.
Companion: S.B. 321 by Hegar
Left pending in committee
H.B. 1197 by Keffer (qui tam)
Relating to an action on certain contracts for information about property recoverable by the state.
Referred to State Affairs
H.B. 1951 by Taylor, Larry (Texas Department of Insurance sunset)
Relating to the continuation and operation of the Texas Department of Insurance and the operation of certain insurance programs; imposing administrative penalties.
Companion: S.B. 644 by Hegar
Referred to Insurance
H.B. 1971 by Jackson (trespasser liability)
Relating to the liability of a landowner for harm to a trespasser.
Companion: S.B. 1160 by Seliger
Referred to Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence
H.B. 2010 by Smithee (anti-indemnity)
Relating to indemnification provisions in construction contracts.
Companion: S.B. 361 by Duncan (and heard last week in State Affairs, committee has reported)
Referred to Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence and heard last week in Committee
Note: abolishes indemnity clauses in most construction contracts.
S.B. 1115 by Wentworth (qui tam)
Relating to fraud against the state and actions by the state and private persons to prosecute those frauds; providing a civil penalty.
Not yet referred to committee.
H.B. 2034 by Miller, Doug (asbestos and silica litigation)
Relating to asbestos and silica litigation.
Companion: S.B. 1202 by Patrick. HB referred to Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence
H.B. 2268 by Hancock (environmental permits)
Relating to compliance with state and federal environmental permits.
Referred to Environmental Regulation
S.B. 875 by Fraser (environmental permits)
Relating to compliance with state and federal environmental permits.
Referred to Natural Resources
S.B. 1718 by Duncan (judicial selection)
Relating to filing vacancies in appellate judicial offices by appointment, partisan elections for all judicial offices, and nonpartisan elections for the retention or rejection for all judicial offices.
Companion: H.B. 3710 by Lewis and Dutton 3/11/11 filed
H.B. 3710 by Lewis and Dutton (judicial selection)
Relating to filing vacancies in appellate judicial offices by appointment, partisan elections for all judicial offices, and nonpartisan elections for the retention or rejection for all judicial offices.
Companion: S.B. 1718 by Duncan. Note: modified Missouri Plan.
S.J.R. 45 by Duncan (judicial selection)
Proposing a constitutional amendment for filling vacancies in appellate judicial offices by appointment, for partisan elections for all judicial offices, and for subsequent nonpartisan retention elections for all judicial offices.
Companion: H.J.R. 155 by Lewis and Dutton
H.J.R. 61 by Raymond (district judge terms)
Proposing a constitutional amendment to increase the terms of district judges to six years.
Referred to Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence
SB 1717 by Duncan (Court Re-Organization) Proposing changes to district county and small claims courts, including additional resources for complex cases. Not yet referred. Note: Sorta like the past bills on court re-org in some respects without the “dumb judge” provision that some critics attacked; adds judicial resources if certain conditions are met.
SB 139 by Wentworth ( Elimination of Straight Ticket Voting in Judicial Races) (Companion Bill: HB 638)
SB referred to Senate State Affairs on January 31, 2011.
HB referred to House Elections Committee on February 21, 2011.
Note: good idea that major parties won’t support.
HB 1999 by Garza ( Nonpartisan Election of District Judges)
Referred to House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence on March 8, 2011.
Note: provides for the nonpartisan election of district judges.
SB 297 by Wentworth (Juror Questions and Note Taking)
Referred to Senate Jurisprudence on January 31, 2011.
Note: The supreme court has already proposed an amendment to TRCP 281 to address notes taken by jurors, which is scheduled to become effective April 1, 2011.
HB 156 by Raymond ( Requiring Recusal Based on Political Contributions)
Referred to House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence on February 11, 2011.
Note: requires justices on the Supreme Court and judges on the Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) to “recuse himself or herself from any case in which the justice or judge has in the preceding four years accepted political contributions…in a total amount of $2,500 from lawyer, law firm or party.
HB 163 by Raymond (Abolishment of the Court of Criminal Appeals; HJR 35 – Constitutional Amendment to Abolish the Court of Criminal Appeals
Referred to House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence on February 11, 2011.
Note: abolishes the CCA and confers its jurisdiction upon the supreme court.
HB 352 By Rodriguez (Cost Benefit Analysis for Rules Adopted or Amended by the Supreme Court)
Referred to House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence on February 15, 2011.
Note: bill requires the supreme court to conduct a cost-benefit analysis before adopting or amending a rule of civil procedure, appellate procedure, or a State Bar rule. The cost-benefit analysis would have to (1) identify the problem the proposed rule or rule amendment is intended to address; (2) determine whether a new rule or rule amendment is necessary to address the problem; and (3) consider the benefits and costs of the proposed rule or rule amendment in relation to the state’s legal profession, attorney disciplinary system, and court system and to the public.
HB 911 by Berman (Application of Foreign Laws and Foreign Forum Selection in Texas) (Duplicate Bill: HB 3027)
Referred to House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence on February 24, 2011.
Note: would prohibit a court, arbitrator, or administrative adjudicator from basing “a ruling or decision” on “a foreign law” or otherwise enforcing contract provisions that require the application of foreign law to a dispute or require parties to litigate their dispute in a forum outside of the United States if such provisions would violate a right guaranteed by the United States Constitution or the constitution of this state.
Referred to House State Affairs on February 28, 2011.
Note: requires a Texas court to “uphold and apply the Constitution of the United States, the constitution of this state, federal laws, and the laws of this state, including the doctrine that is derived from the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and known as the church autonomy doctrine, which in part requires courts to refrain from involvement in religious doctrinal interpretation or application.
HB 1150 by Riddle ( Affidavit to be Filed in a Cause of Action against a Licensed Attorney)
Referred to House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence on February 28, 2011.
Note: requires a claimant who initiates a legal malpractice lawsuit or arbitration proceeding against a licensed attorney to file along with the complaint an expert affidavit supporting the malpractice claim.
Referred to House State Affairs on February 21, 2011.
Note: requires Texas courts to “uphold the laws of the Constitution” and “not enforce, consider, or apply any religious or cultural law.”