Wohlgemuth discusses lawsuit reform

By Matt Smith/msmith@trcle.com

September 26, 2008 11:10 am

— Progress achieved by Texans for Lawsuit Reform since the group’s 1994 inception has made Texas courts more fair and improved the state’s business environment, said Arlene Wohlgemuth, former Texas state representative, on Tuesday. But more work toward legal reform remains to be done, Wohlgemuth said.
Wohlgemuth discussed TLR, a group she supports and volunteers for, during a meeting of the Johnson County Republican Woman’s Club held at Johnson County Republican headquarters in Cleburne.
“Texas civil courts were unfair to litigants and those excessive costs of litigation kept businesses from moving here,” Wohlgemuth said.
TLR volunteers are part of “an army to try to bring a level playing field to the Texas judicial system and make sure it stays that way,” she said.
Reforms that TLR members fought for and gained include an end to forum shopping by attorneys, capping noneconomic damages in tort cases, curbing class-action suits and ending proportionate responsibility — in which someone who is found to be only 15 percent responsible for an accident can be held 100 percent liable, Wohlgemuth said.
Such changes have led to doctors relocating to Texas as well as business moving to the state, Wohlgemuth said.
“In 2003, we had four insurance companies writing medical malpractice policies in Texas,” Wohlgemuth said. “Now we have 30. Texas now has more Fortune 500 companies than any state in the nation.”
All this has resulted in a huge positive economic impact and low unemployment, she said.
“Texas now has a business-friendly tort system where, when people go to court, they think they can get a fair deal,” Wohlgemuth said.
More needs to be done, Wohlgemuth said, to hold ground on the gains made and work toward jury reform and streamlining the court system. To that end, Wohlgemuth encouraged Texans to become involved with TLR.

On the Web:
www.tortreform.com