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Tag Archives: Tort Reform

SCOTX: Attorney Fees Need Not Be Superseded on Appeal

By D. Todd Smith on Posted in Appellate Practice, Opinions & Judgments, Supersedeas, Supreme Court Orders, Texas Supreme Court

In November 2011, I posted about whether attorney fees must be superseded to stay execution of a judgment pending appeal. Today, in In re Nalle Plastics Family Limited Partnership (No. 11-0903), the Texas Supreme Court resolved a split among the intermediate courts of appeals and answered the question, “No.” Let me set the stage a… Continue Reading

Federal Suit Challenges Chapter 74 Damages Caps

By D. Todd Smith on Posted in News & Politics

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… Continue Reading

Tort Reformers Address Baylor Survey

By D. Todd Smith on Posted in News & Politics

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,… Continue Reading

News Column Discusses Judicial Survey on Tort Reform

By D. Todd Smith on Posted in News & Politics

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… Continue Reading

Judges Say No Further Tort Reform Needed

By D. Todd Smith on Posted in News & Politics

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… Continue Reading

Austin Bar Section Sponsoring SB 1204 Debate

By D. Todd Smith on Posted in Announcements, News & Politics

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… Continue Reading