AUSTIN, Texas, March 6, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Texans for Lawsuit Reform praised SB 1204, filed by Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, today to modernize Texas courts and more efficiently administer the judicial process throughout the state. State Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown, is slated to file identical legislation in the House.
"Senator Duncan's legislation takes important steps to assure that Texas continues to move toward a model civil justice system that addresses the emerging and complex challenges of the 21st century," said TLR President Dick Trabulsi. "This legislation will improve the efficiency of our courts at every level as well as strengthening the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court."
TLR Chairman and CEO Richard Weekley also hailed the Court Modernization bill calling it "long overdue."
"Texans have worked hard for fair and balanced civil justice laws and we need an efficient civil justice system to assure those laws work effectively," Weekley said. "This legislation modernizes a confusing and inconsistent system that has evolved in a piecemeal fashion over the last hundred years."
Trabulsi said the legislation brings significant reforms to the state civil court system in four key areas -- complex litigation, standardizing county court at law jurisdiction, simplifying the small claims court process and strengthening Supreme Court jurisdiction.
TLR is joined by several business and trade associations in supporting the Court Modernization bill including the Texas Association of Business, the Texas Oil & Gas Association, the Lumberman's Association of Texas and the National Federation of Independent Business/Texas.
Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the state's largest civil justice reform organization, is a bipartisan, volunteer-led coalition with more than 15,000 supporters residing in more than 757 Texas communities and representing 1,253 different businesses, professions and trades.
What the Court Modernization Bill Does
Highlights of the Proposed Legislation
Establishes a Judicial Panel on Complex Cases
Texas judges are increasingly called on to hear cases involving highly technical and complex issues that often center on cutting-edge science, medicine or law and involve dozens of attorneys and scores of plaintiffs or defendants. SB 1204 will establish a Judicial Panel on Complex Cases, comprised of five qualified judges chosen by the Supreme Court, to determine whether a case is "complex." The panel will assign complex cases to trial court judges who have experience and knowledge in the relevant areas of the law as well as the resources needed to manage these time-consuming and difficult lawsuits
Standardizes the Jurisdiction of County Courts-at-Law
County courts at law were created with the intention of quickly disposing of simple cases but their jurisdiction varies from county to county. SB 1204 will standardize these courts' jurisdiction, allowing them to handle civil matters with amounts in controversy up to $100,000.
The 56 county courts at law currently handling controversies over $100,000 will be converted to state district courts. Because county courts at law use six-person juries, this change will assure that every case with an amount in controversy exceeding $100,000 will be tried to a twelve-person jury.
Simplifies Public Access to Small Claims Court
SB 1204 will lead to the establishment of a true small claims court by raising the civil jurisdiction limit of justice of the peace courts from $5,000 to $10,000 and dispensing with current "small claims courts" (which are really justice of the peace courts operating under a different name). Evictions will continue to be handled by justice of the peace courts, but losing parties in eviction cases will have broader rights of appeal.
Expands the Supreme Court's Discretionary Jurisdiction
Some decisions made by a trial judge before the end of a trial are so important that immediate appellate review is warranted. Currently, the Texas Supreme Court is able to hear some of these appeals but not others. SB 1204 gives the Texas Supreme Court full discretion to take any appeal that it deems presents an important question of law. This will enable the Supreme Court to bring more coherence and consistency to the State's case law.
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