Tort reform is once again in the news in Texas thanks to Entergy v. Summers, a case where a Texas appellate court ruled that a worker injured in an accident in an electric generating plant, cannot sue that plant because he worked for a general contractor doing work on the site, not directly for the corporation which owned the plant.
If understand the ruling correctly, a majority on the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the plant was acting as its own contractor, so could not be sued for negligence by the injured employee. Some members of the legislature who were involved in drafting the law governing this decision argue that the court went beyond its jurisdiction in making its decision. From the Austin Chronicle:
Sen. Kirk Watson of Austin echoed that, saying, "The Court reached a result that the Legislature has rejected over and over again. The Legislature has avoided reducing and has, instead, worked to assure worker protections and also make sure employers keep a commitment to safety."
"Non-substantive re-codifications of statutes are a constitutionally mandated duty of the Legislature ... specifically meant to NOT change the intent of law," said Brownsville Sen. Eddie Lucio in a statement. "In the Entergy decision, the Texas Supreme Court has violated the separation of powers in this state using judicial activism to write law."
Since we're heading into a discussion of interest groups in 2301, tort reform is a perfect example of an issue which divides business and labor. On one side of the issue is the business backed Texans for Lawsuit Reform, and on the other the AFL-CIO. In 2302, we've touched on the problems posed by an elected judiciary. Critics argue that since all the current members of the Texas Supreme Court are Republicans supported by the business community, their judgements will be biased against the interests of labor. Supporters generally point out that the Texas Supreme Court was equally biased against business interests and in favor of lawsuit plaintiffs when they were all Democrats elected with the support of trial lawyers.
So to tie 2301 and 2302 together, does interest group involvement in judicial elections undermine judicial independence?
