Fighting Lawsuit Abuse Matters
Lawsuit abuse affects all Texans by driving up the cost of consumer goods and services, hindering job creation, burdening small businesses, and making our state less competitive because of our overly litigious environment. We pay more for everyday goods and services because of legal system abuse, outlandish court awards, and frivolous lawsuits. When it comes to lawsuit abuse, we all pay – and we all lose.
Mission and History
Texans Against Lawsuit Abuse (TALA) is a non-profit, nonpartisan grassroots coalition dedicated to making our fellow Texans better aware of the price we all pay for frivolous lawsuits and legal system abuse. Created by concerned citizens, TALA is supported by small businesspeople, consumers, health care providers and community leaders.
TALA works hand-in-hand with Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) supporters across the state. Launched in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley in 1990, the CALA movement is supported by thousands of Texans and is spreading across the country.
Issues Important to TALA
Improving Our Laws, Defending Reforms
Texas has made important progress in recent years to rein in lawsuit abuse and improve our state’s legal climate. But legal system abuse persists – which ultimately costs consumers and hurts small and large businesses across the state.
Today, some personal injury lawyers are working to weaken our state’s civil justice system. They’re opposing needed reforms, including those to address the growth of massive court awards known as “nuclear verdicts” or awards of $10 million or more.
We all pay, and we all lose when lawsuit abuse goes unchallenged. Lawsuit abuse threatens our economic prosperity by driving up the cost of consumer goods and hurting our small businesses. When small businesses are threatened by lawsuit abuse, the result can mean job cuts, a reduction in product innovation, and even closure.
We urge Texas lawmakers to make lawsuit reform a priority and to stop the abusive practices that threaten the progress our state has made in reining in lawsuit abuse.
Making Our Courts More Fair
Good laws are only part of the equation. We must also have good courts that uphold and apply the law as written. Texas courts were once among the worst in the nation, attracting junk lawsuits from around the world and earning us national media attention. In fact, some personal injury lawyers pumped millions of dollars into judicial campaigns and bragged about their ability to win outrageous jury awards in certain Texas courts. Today our courts are much improved, but there is still work to be done.
Protecting Consumers
At TALA, we encourage citizens to protect themselves by becoming savvy legal consumers. By exposing questionable personal injury lawyer tactics, TALA helps Texans recognize lawsuit abuse and the everyday impact it can have on our livelihood. TALA also produces and shares a Legal Consumer Guide to help Texans understand their rights and to ask the right questions when hiring a lawyer. TALA’s role as a consumer watchdog is critical in keeping those who would abuse the civil justice system in check.
Reform Works
Civil justice reform has directly benefited Texas job creation and improved our access to health care. TALA’s ongoing Reform Works campaign shines a spotlight on the important benefits of lawsuit reform and reminds us that we must ward off attempts by some personal injury lawyers to return Texas to the days when lawsuit abuse undermined our state. Reform works and it is worth protecting.
