The Texas Supreme Court is “A Balanced Court” according to a new study by the Federalist Society.
The report’s author, Aaron Streett, says that “[t]he court has set about establishing a consistent, moderately conservative approach” in the areas of parental rights, religious liberty, and tort reform, and with its use of its mandamus power (the ability of the court to compel a lower court to act or not act in accordance with its legal obligations).
Of particular interest is the court’s willingness to use its power of mandamus. For instance, in In re McAllen Medical Center, Inc., “the court not only dismissed a case because the expert who produced such a report was unqualified, it did so by granting a writ of mandamus before the case could go to trial.”
By granting mandamus relief early in the process, the court gives defendants hope that they can avoid excessive legal bills from frivolous lawsuits. This makes defendants much more likely to actually defend themselves instead of settling a case to avoid the costly legal bills that can arise from the litigation of even the most ridiculous claims.
Of course, those who tend to press these claims will attack the report, the court, and anyone else they can think of. But if you want to see how sensible the Court is being compared to those who attack tort reform, this excerpt from the report ought to make that crystal clear: “In In re Pirelli Tire L.L.C., the court held that the trial court abused its discretion by refusing to dismiss a lawsuit by Mexican citizens, arising out of a traffic accident on a Mexican highway, allegedly caused by defective tires manufactured in Iowa, by a Delaware corporation.”
I’m speechless. If you’d like to learn more about the 10-year process that brought sensible reforms like these to the Texas judicial system, take a look at our report, “A History of Lawsuit Reform in Texas,” by The Honorable Joe Nixon, a Senior Research Fellow at the Foundation and sponsor of major tort reform legislation during his service in the Texas House.
– Bill Peacock