Democrat trial lawyer’s proposal would be huge step backward for Texas

(Austin, TX) Texans for Lawsuit reform today denounced a proposed platform resolution circulated to Republican county convention delegates over the weekend that would be a boon for Texas’s trial lawyers and a disaster for Texas’s job creators.

Entitled the “Fraud Against Texas Taxpayers” Resolution, the proposal for so-called “whistle-blower” lawsuits is actually a “fraud against Republican leaders” perpetrated by Mark McCaig, a trial lawyer associate of Houston hurricane lawyer, Steve Mostyn, the largest contributor to Democrats in the state and an avowed enemy of lawsuit reform.  Mostyn contributed $10 million to Democrats in the last election cycle in an effort to defeat Republican candidates.   

“TLR has been fighting this job killing legislation for years. In every jurisdiction in which these so-called “whistle-blower” lawsuits exists, it is a nightmare for employers and a bonanza for trial lawyers,” said TLR Founder and CEO, Richard W. Weekley.

Weekley added that this kind of legislation allows a private party to bring lawsuits on behalf of the government with the force and effect of the government, giving a plaintiff overwhelming leverage in litigation against private-sector defendants. 

“One key to Texas’s economic success over the past 20 years is that we have come a long way in creating a predictable and fair civil justice system. Texas Republicans have long included tort reform as a basic plank in their state platform.  The proposed legislation would be a huge step backward for Texas.  We are confident Republican leaders will soundly reject it,” Weekley said.

Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the state’s largest civil justice reform organization, is a bipartisan, volunteer-led coalition with more than 17,000 supporters residing in more than 869 Texas communities and representing 1,253 different businesses, professions and trades. For more information, visit www.tortreform.com.