(Houston, TX) Texans for Lawsuit Reform issued the following statement today regarding CSSB 1628 by Senator Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, which is critical to stopping the lawsuit abuse being perpetrated by storm-chasing trial lawyers.
“Sen. Larry Taylor’s hailstorm lawsuit bill will stop the latest wave of lawsuit abuse in Texas – storm-chasing trial lawyers who go from hailstorm to hailstorm manufacturing lawsuits for attorney fees. Though complaints to Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) are at an all time low, an explosion of lawsuits across Texas – 300 lawsuits were filed in 25 Texas counties last week alone – have resulted in demands of ten to twenty times as much as the original homeowner’s claim. This lawsuit explosion will produce higher deductibles and higher premiums for Texas homeowners. In some areas of Texas and for some types of properties, coverage for homeowners has already been severely reduced and even eliminated,” said TLR spokesperson Sherry Sylvester.
CSSB 1628 maintains vital safeguards for policyholders to receive fair and timely claims payments from insurers, including collecting damages plus 18% penalty interest plus pre-judgment interest plus attorney fees when an insurer has acted wrongly in dealings with policyholders. The bill will require a claimant who wants to sue to file a lawsuit within two years of the storm when the damage occurred and to notify the insurance company regarding any perceived problems with the claim before filing suit.
TLR has championed the passage of major tort reforms in Texas since 1995, making the Lone Star State the lawsuit reform model for the nation and a leader in job creation and economic expansion. Lawsuit reform has stood the test of time in Texas. Not one of the tort reforms backed by TLR has been diminished or reversed by the courts or by later legislative action.
Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the state’s largest civil justice reform organization, is a bipartisan, volunteer-led coalition with more than 18,000 supporters residing in more than 869 Texas communities and representing 1,253 different businesses, professions and trades. For more information, visit www.tortreform.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @lawsuitreform.
