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"                      <p class=\"imgtitle\">Huffman</p>           AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) - Following the lead of Texas Gov. Rick Perry in support of a loser pays tort reform initiative, two state legislators have filed bills that could make the reforms a reality. <br /><br />Under a loser pays system, a losing plaintiff would be required to pay the court costs of the defendants when a court determines that a lawsuit is groundless or a jury determines a suit is frivolous.<br /><br />State Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Southside Place, and State Rep. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, submitted their bill proposals on March 11. <br /><br />\"The lawsuit reforms we won in 2003 played a major role in the strength of our economy, and it is time for the next phase of reform, which is a 'loser pays' system that provides added protections for innocent people fraudulently targeted by frivolous suits,\" Rep. Creighton said to Texas Insider about a week before filing HB 274. \"A 'loser pays' reform is necessary to ensure the integrity of our civil justice system so that innocent parties on both sides are protected.\"<br /><br />Texans for Lawsuit Reform applauded the governor's \"tort reform package.\"<br /><br />To view the entire article, visit the <em><a href=\"http://setexasrecord.com/news/234179-texas-lawmakers-file-loser-pays-bills-in-house-senate\" class=\"copy\">Southeast Texas Record</a></em>."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://legalnewsline.com/stories/510524404-texas-lawmakers-file-loser-pays-bills-in-house-senate>