The American Tort Reform Association applauds the Texas House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee for advancing Senate Bill 30, a landmark tort reform bill that will help restore balance and fairness to Texas courts.
“This is the most significant civil justice reform effort we’ve seen in Texas in more than 15 years,” Lauren Sheets Jarrell said, ATRA’s vice president and counsel for civil justice policy. “We commend Senate leaders, House Judiciary Chair Jeff Leach and the committee for moving this critical legislation forward, helping to ensure that true justice prevails in Texas – not jackpot justice for a select few.”
During a May 7 committee hearing, ATRA testified in support of the House companion bill, which is designed to curb the rise of nuclear verdicts® – jury verdicts greater than $10 million – that threaten Texas’s economic growth by imposing excessive and inequitable jury awards. A recent study found that Texas produced the fourth-most nuclear verdicts® in the country between 2013 and 2022, with 130 verdicts exceeding $10 million.
In Texas, a family of four pays an annual “tort tax” of nearly $6,900 while more than 453,000 jobs are lost across the state each year due to excessive tort costs. Families in the Houston, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Austin metro areas pay even more in annual “tort taxes” — $9,492, $9,932 and $10,984, respectively.
The bill addresses problematic “phantom” damage awards, which are based on inflated medical bill amounts that were never actually paid — Texas courts often determine awards on these billed amounts rather than real payments.
Sponsored by Sens. Charles Schwertner and Brent Hagenbuch, the bill will also:
End the practice of plaintiffs’ lawyers working with captive physicians to grossly inflate medical bills; and,
Increase transparency and fairness in the calculation of damages.
“Passing this bill will help rein in meritless lawsuits, preserve Texans’ access to the courts, and ensure the state doesn’t become a full-blown ‘Judicial Hellhole®,’” Sheets Jarrell said.
Two additional bills to address lawsuit abuse are moving through the legislature. Senate Bill 39 relates to commercial trucking lawsuit reform while Senate Bill 779 relates to public nuisance litigation. The Senate approved both bills which now are pending in the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee.
“Runaway verdicts and abusive litigation practices hurt everyone – consumers, job creators, and Texas families alike,” Sheets Jarrell said. “We encourage lawmakers to stand with Texas families, workers, and businesses by supporting these bills and ensuring our courts deliver justice that is fair, predictable, and rooted in evidence.”
ATRA urges the full Texas House to support S.B. 30 and deliver these much-needed reforms to Gov. Abbott’s desk. The Texas Court of Appeals for the Fifth District is on the “Watch List” of the American Tort Reform Foundation’s annual “Judicial Hellholes®” report.
