Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB1325 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Miller of Comal, Lewis, Clardy H.B. No. 1325
2	2	(Senate Sponsor - Duncan)
3	3	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 23, 2013;
4	4	April 25, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on State
5	5	Affairs; April 29, 2013, reported favorably by the following vote:
6	6	Yeas 8, Nays 0; April 29, 2013, sent to printer.)
7	7
8	8
9	9	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	10	AN ACT
11	11	relating to the dismissal of certain actions arising from exposure
12	12	to asbestos and silica.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. The heading to Section 90.007, Civil Practice
15	15	and Remedies Code, is amended to read as follows:
16	16	Sec. 90.007. MOTION TO DISMISS IN ACTION FILED ON OR AFTER
17	17	SEPTEMBER 1, 2005.
18	18	SECTION 2. Section 90.007(a), Civil Practice and Remedies
19	19	Code, is amended to read as follows:
20	20	(a) In an action filed on or after September 1, 2005 [the
21	21	date this chapter becomes law], if a claimant fails to timely serve
22	22	a report on a defendant, or serves on the defendant a report that
23	23	does not comply with the requirements of Section 90.003 or 90.004,
24	24	the defendant may file a motion to dismiss the claimant's
25	25	asbestos-related claims or silica-related claims. The motion must
26	26	be filed on or before the 30th day after the date the report is
27	27	served on the defendant. If a claimant fails to serve a report on
28	28	the defendant, the motion must be filed on or before the 30th day
29	29	after the date the report was required to be served on the defendant
30	30	under Section 90.006. If the basis of the motion is that the
31	31	claimant has served on the defendant a report that does not comply
32	32	with Section 90.003 or 90.004, the motion must include the reasons
33	33	why the report does not comply with that section.
34	34	SECTION 3. Section 90.010, Civil Practice and Remedies
35	35	Code, is amended by amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections
36	36	(d-1), (l), (m), (n), and (o) to read as follows:
37	37	(d) In an action that was pending on August 31, 2005, [the
38	38	date this chapter becomes law] that was [is] transferred to and
39	39	remains [or] pending in an MDL pretrial court, the [and in which the
40	40	claimant does not serve a report that complies with Section 90.003
41	41	or 90.004, the MDL pretrial court shall not dismiss the action
42	42	pursuant to this chapter but shall retain jurisdiction over the
43	43	action under the MDL rules. The] MDL pretrial court shall not
44	44	remand such action for trial unless:
45	45	(1) the claimant serves a report complying with
46	46	Section 90.003 or 90.004; or
47	47	(2)(A) the claimant does not serve a report that
48	48	complies with Section 90.003 or 90.004;
49	49	(B) the claimant serves a report complying with
50	50	Subsection (f)(1); and
51	51	(C) the court, on motion and hearing, makes the
52	52	findings required by Subsection (f)(2).
53	53	(d-1) Beginning on September 1, 2014, the MDL pretrial court
54	54	shall dismiss each action for an asbestos-related injury or a
55	55	silica-related injury that was pending on August 31, 2005, unless a
56	56	report was served on or after September 1, 2013, that complies with
57	57	Section 90.003, Section 90.004, or Subsection (f). The MDL
58	58	pretrial court shall provide for the dismissal of such actions in a
59	59	case management order entered for that purpose. All such actions
60	60	shall be dismissed on or before August 31, 2015.
61	61	(l) A dismissal under Subsection (d-1) is without prejudice
62	62	to the claimant's right to file a subsequent action seeking damages
63	63	arising from an asbestos-related injury or a silica-related injury.
64	64	(m) This chapter and Section 16.0031 apply to a subsequent
65	65	action for an asbestos-related injury or a silica-related injury
66	66	filed by a claimant whose action was dismissed under Subsection
67	67	(d-1) or by a claimant in an action described by Subsection (d) who
68	68	voluntarily dismissed the action under Section 90.008.
69	69	(n) If a claimant subsequently refiles an action for an
70	70	asbestos-related injury or a silica-related injury that was
71	71	dismissed under Subsection (d-1), the refiled action is treated for
72	72	purposes of determining the applicable law as if that claimant's
73	73	action had never been dismissed but, instead, had remained pending
74	74	until the claimant served a report that complied with Section
75	75	90.003, Section 90.004, or Subsection (f).
76	76	(o) A claimant whose action was dismissed under Subsection
77	77	(d-1) may serve the petition and citation for any subsequently
78	78	filed action for an asbestos-related or silica-related injury by
79	79	certified mail, return receipt requested, or other method approved
80	80	by the MDL pretrial court that is likely to accomplish service in a
81	81	cost-effective manner, on a person who was a defendant in the
82	82	dismissed action.
83	83	SECTION 4. (a) Section 90.010, Civil Practice and Remedies
84	84	Code, as amended by this Act, applies to an action pending in the
85	85	multidistrict litigation pretrial court on, or referred to the
86	86	multidistrict litigation pretrial court on or after, the effective
87	87	date of this Act.
88	88	(b) Nothing in this Act is intended to be regarded as a
89	89	decision on the merits of a dismissed action, to affect the rights
90	90	of any party in a bankruptcy proceeding, or to affect the ability of
91	91	any person to satisfy the claim criteria for compensable claims or
92	92	demands under a trust established pursuant to a plan of
93	93	reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy
94	94	Code (11 U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.). With respect to the
95	95	administrative dismissal of an action under Section 90.010(d-1),
96	96	Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as added by this Act, the tort
97	97	system rights of the dismissed actions are specifically preserved.
98	98	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
99	99	* * * * *