By: Miller of Comal, Lewis, Clardy H.B. No. 1325
(Senate Sponsor - Duncan)
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 23, 2013;
April 25, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on State
Affairs; April 29, 2013, reported favorably by the following vote:
Yeas 8, Nays 0; April 29, 2013, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the dismissal of certain actions arising from exposure
to asbestos and silica.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 90.007, Civil Practice
and Remedies Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 90.007. MOTION TO DISMISS IN ACTION FILED ON OR AFTER
SEPTEMBER 1, 2005.
SECTION 2. Section 90.007(a), Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) In an action filed on or after September 1, 2005 [the
date this chapter becomes law], if a claimant fails to timely serve
a report on a defendant, or serves on the defendant a report that
does not comply with the requirements of Section 90.003 or 90.004,
the defendant may file a motion to dismiss the claimant's
asbestos-related claims or silica-related claims. The motion must
be filed on or before the 30th day after the date the report is
served on the defendant. If a claimant fails to serve a report on
the defendant, the motion must be filed on or before the 30th day
after the date the report was required to be served on the defendant
under Section 90.006. If the basis of the motion is that the
claimant has served on the defendant a report that does not comply
with Section 90.003 or 90.004, the motion must include the reasons
why the report does not comply with that section.
SECTION 3. Section 90.010, Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, is amended by amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections
(d-1), (l), (m), (n), and (o) to read as follows:
(d) In an action that was pending on August 31, 2005, [the
date this chapter becomes law] that was [is] transferred to and
remains [or] pending in an MDL pretrial court, the [and in which the
claimant does not serve a report that complies with Section 90.003
or 90.004, the MDL pretrial court shall not dismiss the action
pursuant to this chapter but shall retain jurisdiction over the
action under the MDL rules. The] MDL pretrial court shall not
remand such action for trial unless:
(1) the claimant serves a report complying with
Section 90.003 or 90.004; or
(2)(A) the claimant does not serve a report that
complies with Section 90.003 or 90.004;
(B) the claimant serves a report complying with
Subsection (f)(1); and
(C) the court, on motion and hearing, makes the
findings required by Subsection (f)(2).
(d-1) Beginning on September 1, 2014, the MDL pretrial court
shall dismiss each action for an asbestos-related injury or a
silica-related injury that was pending on August 31, 2005, unless a
report was served on or after September 1, 2013, that complies with
Section 90.003, Section 90.004, or Subsection (f). The MDL
pretrial court shall provide for the dismissal of such actions in a
case management order entered for that purpose. All such actions
shall be dismissed on or before August 31, 2015.
(l) A dismissal under Subsection (d-1) is without prejudice
to the claimant's right to file a subsequent action seeking damages
arising from an asbestos-related injury or a silica-related injury.
(m) This chapter and Section 16.0031 apply to a subsequent
action for an asbestos-related injury or a silica-related injury
filed by a claimant whose action was dismissed under Subsection
(d-1) or by a claimant in an action described by Subsection (d) who
voluntarily dismissed the action under Section 90.008.
(n) If a claimant subsequently refiles an action for an
asbestos-related injury or a silica-related injury that was
dismissed under Subsection (d-1), the refiled action is treated for
purposes of determining the applicable law as if that claimant's
action had never been dismissed but, instead, had remained pending
until the claimant served a report that complied with Section
90.003, Section 90.004, or Subsection (f).
(o) A claimant whose action was dismissed under Subsection
(d-1) may serve the petition and citation for any subsequently
filed action for an asbestos-related or silica-related injury by
certified mail, return receipt requested, or other method approved
by the MDL pretrial court that is likely to accomplish service in a
cost-effective manner, on a person who was a defendant in the
dismissed action.
SECTION 4. (a) Section 90.010, Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, as amended by this Act, applies to an action pending in the
multidistrict litigation pretrial court on, or referred to the
multidistrict litigation pretrial court on or after, the effective
date of this Act.
(b) Nothing in this Act is intended to be regarded as a
decision on the merits of a dismissed action, to affect the rights
of any party in a bankruptcy proceeding, or to affect the ability of
any person to satisfy the claim criteria for compensable claims or
demands under a trust established pursuant to a plan of
reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy
Code (11 U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.). With respect to the
administrative dismissal of an action under Section 90.010(d-1),
Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as added by this Act, the tort
system rights of the dismissed actions are specifically preserved.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
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