Case Updates
Texas Supreme Court declines to clarify scope of preemption of asbestos and silica reform legislation in admiralty cases
February 27, 2009
The Texas Supreme Court declined to clarify the scope of an earlier ruling that silica cases arising under the Jones Act - a federal maritime statute - do not require claimants to show a minimum level of physical impairment. However, the court also did not accept the plaintiffs’ invitation to reverse its decision that maritime cases under the Jones Act are subject to the minimum physical impairment and expert report requirements of Texas law. The court’s decision also includes helpful findings on the public policy bases for Texas’ asbestos and silica litigation reforms.
U.S. Chamber files amicus brief
February 03, 2009
The U.S. Chamber asked the Texas Supreme Court to clarify the scope of an earlier ruling that silica cases arising under the Jones Act - a federal maritime statute - do not require claimants to show a minimum level of physical impairment. Recent Texas tort reforms require silica and asbestos litigants to show a minimum level of impairment in order to proceed with their claims. The Court’s earlier Jones Act opinion could be misinterpreted by lower courts as precluding application of the Texas reforms to pending claims arising under state law.