TEXAS CIVIL JUSTICE LEAGUE JOURNAL | MORE JOBS, NOT LAWSUITS FALL 2018 TEXAS CIVIL JUSTICE LEAGUE JOURNAL | MORE JOBS, NOT LAWSUITS FALL It’s All About the Judges ............................................................................. 5 Preparing for the 86TH Legislative Session .................................................. 7 TCJL Amicus Report .................................................................................. 14 Court Watch ............................................................................................... 22 TCJL PAC 2018 General Election Judicial Endorsements ........................ 37 2018 Texas General Election Candidates .................................................. 38 Board Of Directors Richie Jackson, Chairman Eric Donaldson Texas Restaurant Association Altria Client Services Executive Committee Hector Rivero, Vice Chairman John W. Fainter, Jr. Texas Chemical Council Executive Committee Walt Jordan ONCOR Electric Bill Oswald, Treasurer Koch Companies TEXAS CIVIL Executive Committee Sherman “Tiger” Joyce JUSTICE LEAGUE American Tort Reform Assn TH 400 W. 15 Street, Suite 1400 Leslie Ward, Secretary Austin, Texas 78701 AT&T Kari King P: 512.320.0474 Executive Committee USAA www.TCJL.com [email protected] Jeff Bonham H. Lee Loftis, Jr. CenterPoint Energy Independent Insurance Executive Committee Agents of Texas Jay Gibson Rob Looney Dow Chemical Company Beatty Navarre Strama STAFF Executive Committee Carol Sims Julie Moore Louis J. Goodman Occidental Petroleum Executive Director Texas Medical Association Executive Committee Nathan Morris Travis Kessler U.S. Chamber of Commerce Texas Association of Realtors Lisa Kaufman Executive Committee Chris Newton General Counsel Texas Apartment Association Robert Levy Civil Justice Reform Group Amber Pearce & Exxon Mobil Pfizer George S. Christian Executive Committee Senior Counsel Steve Perry Julia Rathgeber Chevron Assn of Electric Companies of Texas Executive Committee Chantal Romo Richard Ponder Johnson & Johnson Director of Executive Services Todd Staples Texas Oil & Gas Association Executive Committee Julio Reyes AEP Texas Tom Sellers Alicia Glover Conoco Phillips Comptroller Executive Committee Sherena Shawrieh Valero Energy Corporation Corbin Van Arsdale Associated General Contractors Paul Solomon Lauren Selvik Texas Building Branch State Farm Insurance Executive Assistant Sonya Bishop Jeanne Walker Phillips 66 Shell Oil Company Trey Jackson Director, Information & Web ex officio Red McCombs McCombs Enterprises Ralph Wayne 2 Texas Civil Justice League Journal Fall 2018 Chairman’s Corner by Richard Jackson n about 60 days Texans will go to the polls to elect a slate process, but a final deal proved elusive as time ran out. We of statewide officeholders and members of the Legislature. expect new legislative proposals to emerge in the next few IBut, some of the most important races on the ballot are months, and we stand ready to meet with the stakeholders to the ones most voters know the least about: judicial elections. hammer something out, if possible. We say it all the time; a judge has more direct power over the lives of individual Texans than any other elected official. For the This year the stakes are particularly high. past 32 years, TCJL has worked tirelessly to inform voters about the qualifications of the people who make decisions affecting About half of the state’s appellate justices businesses and personal lives in courthouses across the state. are on the ballot. In three court of appeals This year the stakes are particularly high. About half of the districts, the Third (Austin), the Fourth state’s appellate justices are on the ballot. In three court of appeals districts, the Third (Austin), the Fourth (San (San Antonio), and the Thirteenth (Corpus Antonio), and the Thirteenth (Corpus Christi), this election Christi), this election will determine the will determine the balance of the court for years to come. balance of the court for years to come. We urge TCJL members with facilities and employees in these districts to become informed about the candidates for court of appeals seats in their area and encourage everyone Another key issue for our members is construction liability. to vote all the way down the ballot. One of the biggest Last session the Legislature considered several bills pertaining problems judges face, especially in urban counties, is ballot to construction law but ultimately did not pass anything. fatigue. The problem is worse when voters have never heard Work has continued during the interim between owners, of the candidates or only have the party label to go on. The general contractors, subcontractors, architects, engineers, only way to combat this is to educate voters. TCJL can help and others to see if common ground can be found. We look with that, so please let us know how we can assist you. forward to continuing this work as the session approaches and to playing a positive role in the session on these difficult Of course, we are also heading into a legislative session year and complex issues. in 2019. With the retirement of House Speaker Joe Straus, this session will be the first since 2009 with a new speaker A third area of concern involves the procedure by which health on the podium. There will undoubtedly will be changes up care expenses are submitted in a civil trial. Without getting too and down the line in committee assignments and leadership technical (you can read about the details on Page 12 in this positions. As always, TCJL looks forward to working with publication), a number of problems with the affidavit process the new speaker and the membership in the same bipartisan have arisen in the past few years that need sorting out by the fashion in which we have always operated. We have achieved Legislature. TCJL will work with other interested parties to legislative success under the four speakers who have served find a solution that preserves the efficiency of the current since TCJL’s founding in 1986, and this time will be no process and ensures its fairness to all parties. different. We also continue to enjoy strong relationships with the Lieutenant Governor and members of the Texas Senate. There is a lot to do. We thank you for your continued membership in TCJL and your commitment to working As in every session, there are difficult issues ahead, particularly with us for all these years to improve the business climate with respect to the budget, taxes, and school finance. These of our state. issues tend to dominate every session and will probably do so once again. TCJL will be heavily involved in a number of issues of critical importance to the business community. We will once again lead the Coalition for Critical Infrastructure’s work on eminent domain. Last session we worked diligently with Chairman interested stakeholders to come up with improvements to the Texas Civil Justice League Fall 2018 Texas Civil Justice League Journal 3 Judges wield significant power in the state of Texas. It takes the entire Legislature of 181 members to enact one new law. In the district and appellate court system, it only takes one or two judges to permanently change the course of your business or your life. n fact, each appellate court district is roughly the size our position is an ongoing process. Texas was the leading of two state Senate districts. The Fourth Court of edge into the legal reform movement and is home to IAppeals district alone is larger than the state of New many Fortune 500 companies. Texas is the “holy grail” Hampshire. The Third Court of Appeals is actually a for the plaintiff ’s bar simply because the money is here. statewide court because all administrative and regulatory If they have their way we will be the leading edge back to appeals related to state law bypass their respective district the dark ages of jackpot justice. We cannot afford to let court of appeals and go straight to the Third Court in down our guard. Austin. It is the final word on 95% of all cases related to statewide administrative and regulatory law. The laws we fought so long and hard to change are now being judged. Of the 80+ appellate judges in the state, half What this means to Texas business is this – for more of them are on the general election ballot on November than 30 years, the League and our allies have worked to 6. The TCJL PAC has made endorsements in 49 key reform the legal system and level the playing field for races (see Page 37). It’s these judges that will decide the all participants. There is no doubt we have succeeded future of Texas tort law. They all have opponents, and in passing some of the broadest and most effective they all need your help. Twenty five years of hard work legislation in the United States. now stands to be overturned, one piece at a time. Herein also lies the problem. Because Texas is ahead of If you’ve had a recent conversation with us and we the game in legal reform, in many instances there is no haven’t brought up the importance of the judicial races, legal precedent for the courts to follow. To an outsider, you haven’t been listening. It is critical that we elect it may appear that tort reform is complete because it competent, fair judges. If you have donated to the PAC, has endured the legislative process. However, it ain’t that money has gone directly to candidates we believe over ‘til it’s over. And it is not over until these years in. Please see our website for more information. Texas of legislation survive litigation and appeals, which can judges and Texas business needs your help. Every vote take decades. In large part, that is where we are now. and every dollar counts. While judicial interpretation seals the deal, defense of Fall 2018 Texas Civil Justice League Journal 5 PREPARINGPREPARING FORFOR THETHE 86TH86TH LEGISLATIVELEGISLATIVE SESSIONSESSION hen the Texas Legislature convenes on January 8, 2019, can produce the worst of unintended consequences, and we it will face significant challenges in the civil justice arena.