Loser Pays,’ Texas Small Business Wins

B_Marius567

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Gov. Rick Perry and the Texas state legislature want the rest of the country to hear this message loud and clear: The Lone Star State is open for business.
In a unanimous vote last week, the Texas senate adopted ‘loser pays’ tort-reform legislation, which says that a plaintiff must pay the winning party’s legal fees if their complaint is judged to be groundless. On Wednesday, the Texas house concurred. Governor Perry, who had championed the legislation from its inception, signed it Monday night.
The Wall Street Journal editorialized, “This Texas upgrade will build on reforms in 2003 and 2005 that have vastly improved the legal climate in what has not coincidentally become the country’s best state for job creation. Texas rewrote everything from class-action certification to product liability” — and I would add the state’s medical-malpractice reforms to that list.
No wonder the nation’s CEOs list Texas as the best state for business.
The success of ‘loser pays’ is destined to be viewed as a key victory for the Republican legislature over a group that once enjoyed almost limitless influence in the state: the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, which lobbied aggressively against the law. Prior to the reforms instituted in 2003 and 2005, Texas was an ambulance chaser’s paradise. Nowadays, even the $13 million the trial lawyers spent to defeat Perry and other pro-tort-reform Republicans in the 2010 election had little impact. In a stunning rebuke, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst stared down the trial lawyer lobby and shepherded the measure through to a 31–0 vote in the Senate.
Perry is blazing an important trail for other governors such as South Carolina’s Nikki Haley, Pennsylvania’s Tom Corbett, Florida’s Rick Scott, Oklahoma’s Mary Fallin, and Alabama’s Robert Bentley, all of who ran and won while proposing similar legal-reform ideas.
Why are these types of reforms so important?
The cost of tort litigation is strangling the U.S. and small businesses in particular. According to Marie Gryphon of the Manhattan Institute, the cost of tort litigation topped $247 billion in 2006. The National Federation of Independent Business estimates that tort litigation costs small businesses over $105 billion annually, $35 billion of which comes out of their pockets, not insurance.
‘Loser pays’ reform will result in fewer frivolous lawsuits, lower litigation costs, and more expedient justice for legitimate claims. Just as important, the passage of loser pays is yet another example of how Texas has taken the national lead in job creation and the fostering of a strong business climate. Immediately following Perry’s earlier reforms, the number of physicians applying to practice rose by 60 percent, filling a increasing need across the state, according to the Journal. Likewise, by tossing off the threatening shroud of frivolous lawsuits, Texas is removing yet another barrier to small business expansion and job growth.
‘Loser Pays,’ Texas Small Business Wins - By Stephen DeMaura - The Corner - National Review Online

this most be why Texas added 265300 net jobs, out of the 722200 nationwide.

hope more states do this it will save jobs.
 

Pitbull

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In a unanimous vote last week, the Texas senate adopted ‘loser pays’ tort-reform legislation, which says that a plaintiff must pay the winning party’s legal fees if their complaint is judged to be groundless...

...‘Loser pays’ reform will result in fewer frivolous lawsuits,

Although they may use the terms groundless and frivolous interchangeably in a legal sense, these suits are no laughing matter and there is no frivolity involved.

They are often nothing more than extortion sanctioned by the legal system.
They way the game is played is that a lawsuit is filed.
The chance of winning is slim but an attorney will take on the case on a contingency basis.
The defendant has to come up with a substantial amount of money just to cover legal fees and there always is the possibility that a judge or jury will find in the plaintiff's favor and there will be a monetary judgment on top of large legal fees.
So early on the talk moves to settlement.
The legal fees are so large that winning costs more than settling.
For a fraction of what the legal fees would run they will drop the case.
The fraction is not a small amount of money.
So the plaintiff and his attorney pocket some quick money.
The defense attorney manages to earn something for his legal expertise
And the poor defendant is poorer.

These cases do not get any publicity.

And often these cases are small business owners who are just easy targets.
 

Pitbull

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Well the suit has to be deemed groundless.
Don't know what criterion they will use but I think it is an improvement in the system.
The way it was before - the plaintiff had nothing to lose but time and some filing fees.
The plaintiff's attorney was out his or her time. Which unless they are super successful and have none to spare is a worthwhile investment considering that usually the potential payoff exceeds their regular hourly rate.

I would think to really make this thing work - if the plaintiff cannot pay the legal fees then the plaintiff's attorney should. Make the attorney not take an unwinnable case in the first place.
 

TomCat84

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As a plaintiff or defendant?
Does the recovery require separate legal action?

Either way. And it depends on what kind of action it is. Some are automatic while some are not. I don't get why this was treated as groundbreaking. Judges already have the power to dismiss frivolous lawsuits, and punish those who continually file them. I see this as simply a deterrent for the little guy to recover against someone with an army of expensive lawyers who have the time, money, and power to file huge reams of motions and subpoenas and discovery requests- endless appeals, etc. Of course the WSJ editorialized in favor of it- it's one less barrier to Big Business, and just part of the race to the bottom.
 

houtx48

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If Goodhair Perry had anything to do with it it must be shit, perry is like bush he could fuck up a box of hammers.
 

houtx48

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I'm SO hoping some male escort outs Rick Perry. Hell hath no fury like a homosexual scorned!
This may not be so far off, do you remember years ago when some newspaper accused Goodhair of being gay and he went ballistic, it made you wonder if they had hit a nerve.
 

B_VinylBoy

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This may not be so far off, do you remember years ago when some newspaper accused Goodhair of being gay and he went ballistic, it made you wonder if they had hit a nerve.

Now THAT would be hysterical.
Part of me thinks the par-TEA is trying to push for a Republican ticket that sees any combination of Perry, Christie, Bachmann or Palin. Bush & Santorum have been mentioned, but one's campaign is already dead before it started and the other has a problem with a certain last name.

But I digress, of course... let's go back to Rick Perry being gay. :biggrin1:
 

Pitbull

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... let's go back to Rick Perry being gay. :biggrin1:

Which doesn't have anything to do with tort reform in Texas.

I'm sure you could start an "Is Rick Perry Gay?" thread
:confused::069::confused:
and the subject would get more attention than it would get buried here.
 

B_VinylBoy

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Which doesn't have anything to do with tort reform in Texas.

I'm sure you could start an "Is Rick Perry Gay?" thread
:confused::069::confused:
and the subject would get more attention than it would get buried here.

I'm not trying to derail the thread. I simply made a joking post based on a statement about Rick Perry being gay that someone else stated first. It's not as if the original comments that referred to such a thing were merely two posts BEFORE I made mine or anything. Oh wait... they were!

Instead of quoting me and trying to make me the example, why not go after the source? But just in case you think otherwise, here's five words for you to remember next time you want to try and use me as your scapegoat and none of them are longer than three letters so it'll be easy for you... I AM NOT THE ONE.

And three more just for good measure since I'm feeling generous today. DON'T TRY IT. :rolleyes:
 
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Pitbull

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I simply made a joking post
... I'm feeling generous today....

and in case you couldn't figure it out
I made a joking post :tongue:
It followed your joke much better than the serious post about Perry a few before yours.

Since I'm feeling generous today too, a few words for you.
Lighten up.
I'm not attacking you every time I post. :smile: