Plaintiff Pays -- Win or Lose Legislation is Called "Loser Pays" + ‘Loser Pays,’ Texas Small Business Wins (merged) (Houston: insurance, lawyers)

[HOAPRESIDENT]

Tort deform

House Bill 274 further stacks the legal deck in favor of big-money defendants.

The campaign by so-called tort reformers in Texas has long since moved beyond its avowed goal of preventing frivolous lawsuits and massive damage judgments. With the passage of HB 274 by the Texas House last weekend, it has graduated to an all-out assault on the ability of consumers and small business owners to seek legal redress in civil courts against powerful business interests. Moderator cut: remainder of copyrighted excerpt

Read the rest here: Tort deform: House Bill 274 further stacks the legal deck in favor of big-money defendants | Editorial | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

[HOAPRESIDENT]

Why "Loser Pays" is a Loser

Texans hate the idea of an unfair fight. Remember the Alamo?

Perhaps that’s why it’s so surprising that Gov. Rick Perry — a guy who brands himself as a fierce protector of our core constitutional rights — seems driven to further dilute one of our most enduring constitutional bulwarks: the ability of Texas residents to go to the court and get a fair shake from 12 Texas residents and an impartial judge.Moderator cut: remainder of copyrighted excerpt

Read the rest here: Guest Column: Why "Loser Pays" is a Loser — 82nd Legislative Session | The Texas Tribune

[Sunderpig2]

I wouldn't trust any new piece of legistration coming from of the current bozos and jokers in the state capital, no matter how good it might sound.

[HOAPRESIDENT]

The 'Loser Pays Bill': Yes, You're the Loser
By Patrick Williams Thursday, May 12 2011

You can probably guess who wins.

Hello, loser: So Republicans in control of the Texas House this week managed to shove through a bunch of bills without debate. Moderator cut: remainder of copyrighted excerpt


Read the rest here: The 'Loser Pays Bill': Yes, You're the Loser - Page 1 - News - Dallas - Dallas Observer

[sherlockholmes2501]

The motivation for this law is driven on misrepresentations – and bold-faced lies -- about civil justice in the United States. For example, the “Stella Awards” -- meant to be examples of abuse in our civil justice system – have been exposed to be completely made up. Although presented as fact in chain emails and newspapers across the country, they were later shown to be taken from fictional examples in movies or other urban mythology. There is less evidence of the “Stella Awards” cases than Bigfoot. However, the foundation of tort reform is based on complete outright lies in the “Stella Awards” and significant misrepresentation of its namesake.

The Stella Awards were named after Stella Liebeck – the infamous plaintiff in the McDonald’s “hot coffee” case. What you don’t know about Stella is that her vagina, buttocks and thighs were subject to third degree burns and painful skin grafts after a cup of McDonald’s coffee melted in her lap as she was in the passenger seat of a car. The McDonald’s at issue had been subject to many warnings about its coffee being too hot, but had refused to fix the temperature so that the coffee would actually stay inside the cup. Stella had medical bills exceeding $100,000 as a result. The judge reasonably reduced her judgment to 3 times her medical bills. The justice system worked.

Most people think they will never end up in court. But when they do have a claim, they naively think that the good guy wins and the bad guy loses. In reality, the decked is already stacked against them – even when their vagina and buttocks are seared by an international corporation. The jurors deciding their case come to court tainted -- expecting the Stella Liebeck they thought they knew about – that lady who merely brushed off some hot coffee and sued for millions of dollars. So plaintiffs face an uphill battle with jurors who are prejudiced by these urban myths and bold faced lies.

The judges who see these cases every day aren’t tainted by mythology. That is why eighty-six percent of Texas Judges believe our current tort reform is unnecessary and excessive, in a study conducted by Baylor University School of Law. We shouldn’t let a mob inflamed by lies and misrepresentations to tilt the scales of justice even further in favor of the defendants.

[HOAPRESIDENT]

'Loser pays' is false advertising

By RICK CASEY

I was once the target of a frivolous lawsuit.

I had written an article about a well-oiled chop shop. Moderator cut: remainder of copyrighted excerpt

Read more: Rick Casey: 'Loser pays' is false advertising | Rick Casey | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

[hamiltonpl]

For Texas to be a good place to do business, it must be a good place to invest. However, Texas’ deceitfully named “loser pays” legislation – which only applies to plaintiffs whether they win or lose – will ensure that Texas companies will not be trusted because they cannot be held accountable. Our companies aren’t so weak that they need this unfair tilt on the scales of justice.

I. Plaintiffs Already Bear the Burden of Proof
Today, a person who accuses a Texas company of fraud faces the significant obstacle of having to prove his case to the court and prevailing through every technicality. Under this legislation, he will then face the probability of winning at trial and still being forced to pay the Defendants’ massive legal bills. Conversely, if the Defendants lose, they pay no legal fees to the plaintiff. It is hardly “loser pays” when only the plaintiff pays. The chilling effect of this legislation is transparent – and ignores the reality that occasionally guilty defendants win.

This “plaintiffs pay” legislation will encourage businesses to lie, cheat and steal through courtroom obstruction. The only businesses attracted to Texas would be Enron-type tricksters seeking to avoid liability for the harm they’ve caused. In the long run, Texas will be known as a place where a man’s word is no longer his bond. This bill encourages a race to the bottom for Texas businesses.

II. True “Loser Pays” Exists in Socialist Countries with Entrenched Aristocracies
The courtroom in America was designed as the great equalizer – where anyone could complain about a grievance. It is one of the basic principles that makes America different – and it is why the right to sue was embodied in our Bill of Rights as the Seventh Amendment. The “American Rule” is that each side should pay its own legal fees. The “British Rule” required the loser to pay its opponents fees. Senate Bill 13 seeks to make Texas courts more like those in Mexico and Britain – nations that our founders rebelled against due to injustice committed by an entrenched aristocracy acting with impunity.

This bill entrenches those with a legion of lawyers into a new aristocracy. Senate Bill 13 doesn’t belong in a nation where all citizens have equal rank; instead, it belongs in a place where they have lords and serfs, nobles and commoners. Those countries also have crippling entitlement programs – including heavily socialized taxpayer funded legal systems – to counter their unfair courthouse laws.

Texas can’t afford this Mexican and British “justice” system. It undermines our businesses and deters people with legitimate claims from the courthouse because of a fear they could lose on a technicality.

III. A New Type of Insurance
Proponents of the bill claim that plaintiffs could just take out insurance on lawsuits. So it’s no shock that the backers of the bill are insurance companies that want to limit their liability while introducing a new form of insurance.

IV. Conclusion
Texas cannot afford a justice system that cheapens our business community with reforms motivated by urban mythology. Plaintiffs-pay legislation will make Texas a bad place to invest and a bad place for business because it encourages wrongdoers from escaping liability and deters those with valid claims.

[TT Dave]

As stated in the Houston Chronicle article above, the deck is already stacked in favor of big money defendants. Everyone that has a legitimate case already faces huge corporations and other wealthy people that can hire teams of lawyers to defend them. This nonsense bill will weed out most lawsuits period, whether they are legitimate or not. As some of you have already stated, many people that have legitimate claims will fear that these wealthy defendants lawyers will find a technicality of some sort to get their clients off and that they'll be bankrupted by having to pay the defendants legal fees. As a result, many people that have legitimate claims will settle for less money than they are entitled to or just drop the case. That's not justice IMO.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by TT Dave

As stated in the Houston Chronicle article above, the deck is already stacked in favor of big money defendants. Everyone that has a legitimate case already faces huge corporations and other wealthy people that can hire teams of lawyers to defend them. This nonsense bill will weed out most lawsuits period, whether they are legitimate or not. As some of you have already stated, many people that have legitimate claims will fear that these wealthy defendants lawyers will find a technicality of some sort to get their clients off and that they'll be bankrupted by having to pay the defendants legal fees. As a result, many people that have legitimate claims will settle for less money than they are entitled to or just drop the case. That's not justice IMO.

I agree completely.

[Lee W.]

The rape of the people's rights continues, I see.