Plano Business Litigation Attorneys at Armstrong the Law Firm are primed and ready for the new “expedited trial” in Texas.
The new “Loser Pays” law passed by the Texas legislature last year requires the Texas Supreme Court to review two sets of rules for “expedited” trials. If this is new to the reader, be informed that the new law’s intention, at least, is to provide a fast track for, among other things, smaller cases. These are defined as cases in which $100,000 or less is in controversy.
However, the high court’s task force couldn’t agree on whether expedited trials for such low-dollar cases should be mandatory or voluntary.
The Supreme Court Advisory Committee (SCAC) adressed this issue on Jan. 27. By a vote of 26-18, it decided that expedited trials should be voluntary…but that vote is not binding on the Supremes.
Some court watchers think the expedited trials will be a good thing for lawyers. Specifically, they’ll stem the tide of mediation-settled cases and bring more cases back to the courthouse , even if the Court adopts the mandatory version.
David Chamberlain, a member of the task force that actually drafted the rules and a senior partner in Chamberlain McHaney in Austin, opined: “What I think it will do is provide an opportunity for young lawyers to gain trial experience.” Continues Chamberlain, expedited trials will also “give an opportunity for more experienced lawyers to knock the dust off.”
The loser-pays law, also known as House Bill 274,is supposed to lower discovery costs and ensure cases are expedited through the courts. The Texas Supreme Court created the Task Force for Rules in Expedited Civil Actions to draft the new rules. The task force submitted its final report January 25th and presented the rules to the SCAC two days later.
The report indicates the task force agreed on many ways to expedite cases: limiting pretrial discovery; mandating that parties disclose documents that support their claims or defenses; imposing time limits on oral depositions; requiring courts to follow a mandatory time frame to set cases for trial; and prohibiting judges from ordering expedited cases into mandatory ADR (alternative dispute resolution). It also agreed the $100,000 must include costs and attorney’s fees as well as damages.
Plano business litigator Richard Armstrong, an attorney with 31 years experience in the area, agrees with Chamberlain and others who are like-minded. “For too long, Texas procedure and the glut of cases has been forcing people to settle solely because of the cost of trial. This simply should not happen, and there must be a pragmatic alternative for an aggrieved person or company who wants to take a case to trial.”, says Armstrong. Armstrong continued, “In the abstract, mediation is a good thing, but it is not a panacea. Some cases should not be mediated. To force a square peg in a round hole just drives up the cost for everyone.”
Armstrong also believes old and young litigation attorneys alike will benefit by keeping their trial skills sharp, while obtaining faster resolution of their clients’ disputes.
