Texans divided on Bush's legal reformsConsumer groups cite lawsuit limitsBELLAIRE, Texas -- On his first day as governor of Texas, George W. Bush declared that limiting lawsuits was an "emergency issue" for his state.
"We must put a stop to the frivolous and junk lawsuits which clog our courts," he said in January 1995, a popular line he has repeated often since then. Getting rid of "frivolous" suits, or even defining them, proved difficult, but the new governor won limits on how much money could be awarded in the biggest cases. For example, punitive damages were capped at twice the amount of a victim's actual loss. But the legal-reform movement Bush launched in Texas has gone far beyond questions of monetary awards. Among other things, it has led to limits on the right to sue in the first place. "Texas has gone from one of the most friendly states for consumer protection to one of the most anticonsumer states," said Richard M. Alderman, professor of law at the University of Houston who specializes in consumer rights. "It all began in 1995. Bush oversaw a significant retreat for consumer protection, and it was all done under the guise of attacking 'frivolous' lawsuits." The impact has been felt by home buyers such as Mary and Keith Cohn, whose elegant new residence in this well-off Houston suburb came with a leaky roof that led to rotting and moldy wallboard throughout the structure. After their daughters became ill, the Cohns moved out. The repairs cost more than $300,000. To their dismay, they learned that when the builder refused to repair the damage, they could not sue him for redress. Instead, they could pursue private arbitration, a process they considered stacked against them. Since leaving Texas for Washington, Bush has continued to express his disdain for "frivolous and junk lawsuits," though his administration has pushed two relatively modest changes so far -- capping noneconomic damages in medical malpractice claims and funneling class-action lawsuits into federal courts. Democrats in the Senate have stalled both proposals. But Bush served notice at this summer's Republican National Convention that if reelected, he plans to make "tort reform" a key part of his second-term agenda. In the president's view, lawsuits raise costs for businesses, doctors, and consumers. Bush's legacy in Texas, supporters here say, was the reining in of a civil justice system. "This state was known for egregious abuses of the legal system," said Ken Hoagland, a spokesman for Texans for Lawsuit Reform. "It was entrepreneurial law. The trial lawyers would find a moneymaking cause and then go recruit some plaintiffs. But since 1995, we've really changed the landscape." To critics, Bush-style legal reform is bad news for consumers. Until the mid-1990s, Texas had one of the nation's strongest consumer-protection laws. Known as the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, it allowed consumers to sue and take their claims before a jury.
In a series of legal changes, the probusiness Texas Legislature and state Supreme Court made it much harder for consumers to sue and win damages. No industry was more effective in protecting its interests than homebuilders. © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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