87R5257 AJA-F
By: Schofield H.B. No. 3440
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to information a claimant must provide when bringing an
action asserting an asbestos-related injury.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 90, Civil Practice and
Remedies Code, is amended by adding Section 90.0031 to read as
follows:
Sec. 90.0031. SWORN INFORMATION FORM REQUIRED FOR CLAIMS
INVOLVING ASBESTOS-RELATED INJURY. (a) A claimant asserting an
asbestos-related injury on or after September 1, 2021, must, in
addition to meeting the requirements of Section 90.003, serve on
each defendant a sworn information form specifying the evidence
that provides the basis for each claim against each defendant. The
sworn information form must be served with the petition and include
all of the following with specificity:
(1) the name, address, date of birth, marital status,
occupation, current and past worksites, and current and past
employers of the exposed person and any person through whom the
exposed person was exposed to asbestos;
(2) each person through whom the exposed person was
exposed to asbestos and the exposed person's relationship to each
such person;
(3) each asbestos-containing product, whether from a
bankrupt entity or otherwise, to which the exposed person was
exposed, or if the exposed person was exposed through another
person, to which that other person was exposed;
(4) the specific location and manner of each exposure,
including for any person through whom the exposed person was
exposed to asbestos;
(5) the beginning and ending dates of each exposure,
the frequency and length of each exposure, and the proximity of the
asbestos-containing product or its use to the exposed person and
any person through whom the exposed person was exposed to asbestos;
(6) the identity of the manufacturer or seller of the
specific asbestos product for each exposure;
(7) the specific asbestos-related disease claimed to
exist; and
(8) any supporting documentation relating to the
information required under this subsection.
(b) A claimant has a continuing duty to supplement the
information that Subsection (a) requires to be disclosed.
(c) The court shall dismiss a claimant's asbestos claim
without prejudice as to any defendant whose product or premises is
not identified in the required disclosures set forth in Subsection
(a).
(d) The court shall dismiss a claimant's asbestos claim
without prejudice as to all defendants if the claimant fails to
comply with the requirements of Subsection (a).
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.