AUSTIN, TEXAS— The following statement regarding the signing of House Bill 19 and Senate Bill 1045 by Governor Greg Abbott, establishing a business specialty court and business specialty appeals court, should be attributed to Robert Wood, spokesperson for Texans Against Lawsuit Abuse:
“Enactment of House Bill 19 and Senate Bill 1045 will help ensure fair access to our courts and bring Texas in line with 29 other states with specialty courts focused on corporate governance lawsuits and complex business-to-business cases.
“Given Texas’s continued dramatic economic growth, ensuring we have a court system to accommodate major business-to-business disputes and appeals dealing with statewide issues makes common sense. We thank Governor Greg Abbott for signing both of these important measures.”
These two bills create both a new state appeals court and the lower court system dedicated to business litigation:
HB 19 – Creates a new business court to hear business-to-business lawsuits. Not only would this ensure business-to-business cases and board governance matters receive the expertise of specialized judges to hear these complex cases, but the legislation also helps ensure Texans would continue to have access to courts for cases of personal injury, wrongful death, family law and other non-business matters.
SB 1045 – Establishes the 15th Court of Appeals to handle business-to-business lawsuits ruled on by the new business court created by HB 19, ensuring the new specialty court system could function fully and effectively by establishing a new appellate court to handle these business specialty cases under appeal.
