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The Court’s Defenders: Polluters, Big Insurance, Corporate Wrongdoers

Court Watch—January 30th, 2012

On the heels of a 10-year review by Court Watch that found the Texas Supreme Court routinely sides with big government and big corporate interests over everyday Texans, the very special interests that benefit from the Court’s pro-defendant penchant rose to the court’s defense. None of the attacks, however, were able to discredit Court Watch’s findings or the report’s conclusions. Instead, critics are resorting to condescension and ad hominem attacks.

The report, “Thumbs on the Scale: A Retrospective of the Texas Supreme Court, 2000-2010,” was released last week by Court Watch, a project of the Texas Watch Foundation. Among the report’s findings was that consumers lost an average of 79% of cases at the high court and that the court overturned 74% of local juries who found in favor of consumers. Read More »

Report: Decade-Long Review Shows Texas Supreme Court Is Activist, Ideological

Court Watch—January 26th, 2012

The Texas Supreme Court has a long history of favoring corporate defendants over families and small businesses, according to a decade-long review of the Court’s decision making by Court Watch, a project of the non-profit Texas Watch Foundation.

Court Watch reviewed the 624 cases involving consumers decided by the Court between 2000 and 2010. The report, “Thumbs on the Scale: A Retrospective of the Texas Supreme Court, 2000-2010,” finds that the state’s high court for civil matters “has marched in lock-step to consistently and overwhelmingly reward corporate defendants and the government at the expense of Texas families.” Read More »

So, Just What Is a Junk Policy?

Texas Watch—January 25th, 2012

So, just what is a junk insurance policy? Sen. Leticia Van de Putte said she’s been hearing from constituents who are fed up with junk policies with what she called “luscious exclusions” and “skyrocketing” deductibles. She asked Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman about this at a recent committee hearing. Kitzman was unaware of the problem.

Well, we are aware of the problem. So, we sent Sen. Van de Putte a letter outlining the problem (and we sent a copy to Commissioner Kitzman too). Read More »

State Farm Continues to Avoid Accountability

December 14th, 2011

In a case that’s been dragging on since 2003, State Farm has sought to avoid accountability to their policyholders and refuses to pay back overcharges. The latest chapter in this saga occurred today when the parties argued before the Third Court of Appeals. Here is a statement from Texas Watch executive director Alex Winslow: Read More »

Report Finds Texas Lags in Access to Health Care; Proves Special Interests Wrong on Impact of Tort “Reform”

Texas Watch—December 5th, 2011

A report just released by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) shows that Texas ranks near the bottom in major categories related to access to medical care. Texas-based medical and insurance interest groups assert that restricting the rights of patients has improved the supply of doctors serving our state. The AAMC data shows the opposite. Read More »

Cato Says Med Mal Caps Are Bad

Texas Watch—October 21st, 2011

The conservative-libertarian Cato Institute released a white paper this week that concludes that caps on medical malpractice damages are bad for patients because they remove incentives for medical liability insurers and physicians to reduce risk associated with the practice of medicine. You read that right. The Cato Institute believes med mal caps are bad. Read More »

Dewhurst Should Add Insurance to Wildfire Interim Charges

Texas Watch—October 18th, 2011

Lt. Governor David Dewhurst issued a series of interim charges directing the Texas Senate to review various issues stemming from the ongoing drought and threat of wildfires. The charges cover a myriad of important issues; however, the charges make no mention of the insurance industry or the impact the wildfires could have on policyholders.

In a letter to Dewhurst, Texas Watch urged Dewhurst to add a charge to explore the impact the wildfires are having on insurance policyholders. Read More »

The Terrible Texas 5: The Worst of the Corporate Immunity Agenda

Texas Watch—October 6th, 2011

Over the last decade, Texas politicians and lobbyists have enacted a series of devastating legal changes that severely restrict the legal rights of individuals, families, and small businessowners. These changes have made Texas a more dangerous place in which the value of accountability has been discarded.

Here are our picks for the Terrible Texas 5, a sampling of the worst of the corporate immunity agenda in our state. Read More »

Texas Watch Raises Concerns About TWIA Bill Implementation

Texas Watch—September 30th, 2011

The Texas Department of Insurance has requested input on how to implement portions of the windstorm insurance bill passed by lawmakers earlier this year. This legislation is dangerously misguided, severely restricts the rights of coastal policyholders, and creates an overly complicated claims process.

Given this flawed framework, Texas Watch submitted the following comments focused on key public policy areas like ensuring better transparency and removing bias from the dispute resolution process. Read More »

Report: Tort “Reform” in Texas: Implementing the Corporate Immunity Agenda

Texas Watch Foundation—September 26th, 2011

Despite a professed desire to adhere to fundamental constitutional principles, Governor Rick Perry’s tenure has been marked by radical changes that arbitrarily and dangerously restrict the legal and constitutional rights of Texans of all walks of life, including patients, families, workers, homeowners, senior citizens, policyholders, and small business owners. This report discusses the most notable of these statutory changes and details their devastating human cost, namely, how they have closed the courthouse door on many Texas families. Read More »

Texas Watch—Consumer Protection. Corporate Accountability. Citizen Advocacy.