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Several Texas newspapers ran stories regarding a report from Texas Watch that criticizes the Texas Supreme Court for issuing a growing number of opinions anonymously. The Houston Chronicle’s article on the report notes: The report by judicial watchdog group Texas Watch shows that 57 percent of the opinions issued in...

Last Friday, the Texas Supreme Court issued another opinion where it opted for big business over consumers. The question in Perry Homes v. Cull was whether the Culls’ claim was properly submitted to arbitration. In the case, the Culls filed suit against Perry Homes for defects in their house. Fourteen...

Texas Watch, a bi-partisan advocacy group working to improve consumer and insurance laws for Texas families, has issued a new report about the increasing backlog of cases at the Texas Supreme Court.  The report, entitled Snail's Pace: An Analysis of the Texas Supreme Court's Growing Backlog, made the following findings:...

The Philadelphia Inquirer has a recent article that discusses the disturbing trend of pre-dispute arbitration in the medical malpractice context.  The article summarizes the pros and cons of pre-dispute agreements with the following: Proponents say arbitration is faster, cheaper and fairer than trials, but critics say the secretive system can...

Two professors from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have conducted a fascinating study on client behavior involving contingent fees. (You can download the entire article for free from the linked abstract.) The study seeks an answer to the questions: (1) Contingency fees are obviously beneficial to those that cannot afford...

I have long told people that potential clients often do not come to us because they are hurt, but because of the way they are treated after they are hurt.  Many times, patients don't seek to sue doctors or clients don't seek to sue attorneys just because the doctor or attorney made...

As you may recall, Baylor Law School professors conducted a survey of the state's district judges to get their thoughts on frivolous lawsuits, excessive verdicts, and the such.  Two Texas plaintiffs' lawyers have recently written a commentary based on the article for the San Antonio Express News.  TLR attorney Lee...

The brilliant Stephanie Mencimer has a new article entitled Suckers Wanted: How Car Dealers and Other Businesses Are Taking Away Your Right to Sue.  In it, she starts by outlining the problems she had in trying to buy a car without an arbitration agreement.  When she and her husband asked...

There is a long line of politicians who vote for various tort reform measures only to need to turn to the tort system themselves.  The latest is Florida Republican Stephen Wise, a strong supporter of reform of medical malpractice and nursing home litigation.  According to the Florida Times Union: As a...

We recently received a link to the Progressive Gainsharing program.  Under the program, Progressive Insurance employees receive bonuses based on how well the company does.  That's not a problem for many industries, but it is a problem in insurance if adjusters receive monetary incentives to deny claims. Perhaps we should...