Texas Appellate Lawyer & Attorney : D. Todd Smith Law Firm : Appeals, Sanctions, Summary Judgment : Austin, Texas

As reported in The Houston Chronicle, a group of 11 plaintiffs have brought a putative class action in federal district court in Marshall seeking to have the Chapter 74 medical malpractice damage caps declared unconstitutional.  Among the plaintiffs is former Dallas Cowboy Ron Springs, who has been in a coma since late last year following surgery to remove a cyst.

The lawsuit, styled Watson et al. v. Harrison County Hospital Association et al. (Civil Action No. 2:08-CV-00081), has been assigned to U.S. District Judge John Ward.  A copy of the complaint is available here.

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In this post, I asked how "tort reformers" are responding to the Baylor Law Review-sponsored survey of Texas judges, which has been championed as helping to "clear the air" about the state of our court system.  In a commentary recently published in the San Antonio Express-News, Austin lawyer Lee Parsley does just that.  In addition, Texans for Lawsuit Reform has issued a press release (picked up by MSNBC) touting the Parsley article.  Parsley and TLR read the Baylor study much differently than previous commentators, contending that it actually shows a need for further lawsuit reform.

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The Baylor Law Review-sponsored survey of Texas judges regarding the need for tort reform (previously discussed here) received further press this week. In a San Antonio Express-News guest column, Houston lawyers Peter Kelly and Jeffery Nobles discussed the survey and described it as "an important step in clearing the air about the court system."  Kelly and Nobles concluded:

Most of the political myths that gave birth to the conventional wisdom about runaway juries have now been exposed as urban legends, and the Baylor survey of anonymous judges from around the state disputes what openly partisan politicians have said in every political campaign for the past 20 years.  When it comes to jury trials, Texans should ignore the politicians and consultants and heed the data.

The results of this survey were released back in August.  How do the "tort reformers" respond?

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I haven't intended to jump on any tort reform bandwagon this week, but I saw another article of interest to litigators on both sides of the docket.  (Hat tip to Trial Ad Notes.)  In Texas Plaintiffs Practice in the Age of Tort Reform:  Survival of the Fittest—It's Even More True Now, the authors overview the politics of tort reform, address the business of representing plaintiffs, and discuss key changes in plaintiffs' practice in recent years.  The article, part of a symposium on plaintiffs' practice published by the New York Law School Law Review, concludes that tort reform has forced difficult economic choices on Texas plaintiffs' lawyers and threatens access to legal remedies for some clients with legitimate claims.

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In this post, the Permutter and Schuelke Blog reports on a new article in the Baylor Law Review following a two-year survey of Texas district judges' views on the "litigation crisis."  Of the 78 percent of all Texas district judges responding, more than 80 percent do not think further tort reform is necessary.  Interestingly, more respondents thought that juries had awarded damages that were too low rather than too high.

UPDATE:  Click on the "comments" link for electronic access to the article, courtesy of Brooks Schuelke and the Baylor Law Review.

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Per the Austin Bar Association's E-Bulletin, the ABA Civil Litigation Section will host a debate on SB 1204 at noon on Tuesday, April 10, between Lee Parsley (representing Texans for Lawsuit Reform, whose position paper is available here) and Jay Harvey (President of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, whose position paper is available here).  This one should be interesting.

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I can't wait to see what Texas Lawyer has to say about Chief Justice Jefferson's State of the Judiciary address.  I'm sure there will be some interesting quotes about how the Chief has gone over to the dark side or has seen the light, depending on where the interviewee stands on what now passes for tort reform.

I am skeptical of any cause advanced by Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the same happy people who brought you House Bill 4 two sessions ago.  The face of civil litigation has changed tremendously since then.  Most litigators I know would say that the change has not been for the better.

As I read Chief Justice Jefferson's comments, however, they make a lot of sense.  Our multi-level, overlapping court system is confusing, even to practicing lawyers.  If the legislature can streamline the system and make it more efficient, should we fear that result, just become TLR advocates it?

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