87R16601 SCL-F
 
  By: Leach H.B. No. 19
 
  Substitute the following for H.B. No. 19:
 
  By:  Smith C.S.H.B. No. 19
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to civil liability of a commercial motor vehicle owner or
  operator.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  The heading to Chapter 72, Civil Practice and
  Remedies Code, is amended to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 72. LIABILITY OF MOTOR VEHICLE OWNER OR OPERATOR [TO GUEST]
         SECTION 2.  Chapter 72, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
  amended by adding Subchapter A, and a heading is added to that
  subchapter to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER A. LIABILITY TO GUEST
         SECTION 3.  Sections 72.001, 72.002, 72.003, and 72.004,
  Civil Practice and Remedies Code, are transferred to Subchapter A,
  Chapter 72, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 4.  Sections 72.002 and 72.003, Civil Practice and
  Remedies Code, are amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 72.002.  LIMITATION NOT APPLICABLE. There is no
  limitation under this subchapter [chapter] on the liability of an
  owner or operator who is not related to the guest within the second
  degree by consanguinity or affinity.
         Sec. 72.003.  EFFECT ON OTHER LIABILITY. (a) This
  subchapter [chapter] does not affect judicially developed or
  developing rules under which a person is or is not totally or
  partially immune from tort liability by virtue of family
  relationship.
         (b)  This subchapter [chapter] does not relieve the owner or
  operator of a motor vehicle being demonstrated to a prospective
  purchaser or relieve a public carrier of responsibility for
  injuries sustained by a passenger being transported.
         SECTION 5.  Chapter 72, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
  amended by adding Subchapter B to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER B. ACTIONS REGARDING COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES
         Sec. 72.051.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Accident" means an event in which operating a
  commercial motor vehicle causes bodily injury or death.
               (2)  "Civil action" means an action in which:
                     (A)  a claimant seeks recovery of damages for
  bodily injury or death caused in an accident; and
                     (B)  a defendant:
                           (i)  operated a commercial motor vehicle
  involved in an accident; or
                           (ii)  owned, leased, or otherwise held or
  exercised legal control over a commercial motor vehicle or operator
  of a commercial motor vehicle involved in an accident.
               (3)  "Claimant" means a person, including a decedent's
  estate, seeking or who has sought recovery of damages in a civil
  action.  The term does not include:
                     (A)  a passenger who, in a commercial transaction,
  paid to ride in a commercial motor vehicle; or
                     (B)  a passenger in a motor vehicle transporting
  children to or from a school or school-sponsored event.
               (4)  "Commercial motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle
  being used for commercial purposes in interstate or intrastate
  commerce to transport property or passengers, deliver or transport
  goods, or provide services.  The term does not include a motor
  vehicle used at the time of the accident primarily for personal,
  family, or household purposes.
               (5)  "Compensatory damages" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 41.001.
               (6)  "Employee" means a person who works for another
  person for compensation. The term includes an "employee" as defined
  by 49 C.F.R. Section 390.5 and any other agent or person for whom an
  employer may be liable under respondeat superior.
               (7)  "Exemplary damages" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 41.001.
               (8)  "Motor vehicle" means a self-propelled device in
  which a person or property can be transported on a public highway.  
  The term includes a trailer when in use with a self-propelled device
  described by this subdivision. The term does not include a device
  used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
               (9)  "Operated," "operating," and "operation," when
  used with respect to a commercial motor vehicle, means to cause the
  vehicle to move or function in any respect, including driving,
  stopping, or parking the vehicle or otherwise putting the vehicle
  into use or operation. These terms include a commercial motor
  vehicle that has become disabled.
               (10)  "Video" means an electronic representation of a
  sequence of images, with or without accompanying audio, depicting
  either stationary or moving scenes, regardless of the manner in
  which the sequence of images is captured, recorded, or stored.
         Sec. 72.052.  BIFURCATED TRIAL IN CERTAIN COMMERCIAL MOTOR
  VEHICLE ACCIDENT ACTIONS. (a) In a civil action under this
  subchapter, on motion by any defendant, the court shall provide for
  a bifurcated trial under this section.
         (b)  A motion under this section shall be made not later than
  the 120th day after the date the defendant bringing the motion files
  the defendant's original answer.
         (c)  The trier of fact shall determine liability for and the
  amount of compensatory damages in the first phase of a bifurcated
  trial under this section.
         (d)  The trier of fact shall determine liability for and the
  amount of exemplary damages in the second phase of a bifurcated
  trial under this section.
         (e)  For purposes of this section, a finding by the trier of
  fact in the first phase of a bifurcated trial that an employee
  defendant was negligent in operating an employer defendant's
  commercial motor vehicle may serve as a basis for the claimant to
  proceed in the second phase of the trial on a claim against the
  employer defendant that requires a finding by the trier of fact that
  the employee was negligent in operating the vehicle as a
  prerequisite to the employer defendant being found negligent in
  relation to the employee defendant's operation of the vehicle.
         Sec. 72.053.  FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH REGULATIONS OR
  STANDARDS. (a)  In this section, "regulation or standard" includes
  a statute, regulation, rule, or order regulating equipment or
  conduct adopted or promulgated by the federal government, a state
  government, a local government, or a governmental agency or
  authority.
         (b)  In a civil action under this subchapter, evidence of a
  defendant's failure to comply with a regulation or standard is
  admissible in the first phase of a trial bifurcated under Section
  72.052 only if, in addition to complying with other requirements of
  law:
               (1)  the evidence tends to prove that failure to comply
  with the regulation or standard was a proximate cause of the bodily
  injury or death for which damages are sought in the action; and
               (2)  the regulation or standard is specific and
  governs, or is an element of a duty of care applicable to, the
  defendant, the defendant's employee, or the defendant's property or
  equipment when any of those is at issue in the action.
         (c)  Nothing in this section prevents a claimant from
  pursuing a claim for exemplary damages relating to the defendant's
  failure to comply with other applicable regulations or standards as
  provided by Chapter 41, or from presenting evidence on that claim in
  the second phase of a bifurcated trial.
         Sec. 72.054.  LIABILITY FOR EMPLOYEE NEGLIGENCE IN OPERATING
  COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE. (a) In a civil action under this
  subchapter, an employer defendant's liability for damages caused by
  the ordinary negligence of a person operating the defendant's
  commercial motor vehicle shall be based only on respondeat superior
  if the defendant stipulates that, at the time of the accident, the
  person operating the vehicle was:
               (1)  the defendant's employee; and
               (2)  acting within the scope of employment.
         (b)  If an employer defendant stipulates in accordance with
  Subsection (a) and the trial is bifurcated under Section 72.052, a
  claimant may not, in the first phase of the trial, present evidence
  on an ordinary negligence claim against the employer defendant that
  requires a finding by the trier of fact that the employer
  defendant's employee was negligent in operating a vehicle as a
  prerequisite to the employer defendant being found negligent in
  relation to the employee defendant's operation of the vehicle.
         (c)  Nothing in this section prevents a claimant from
  pursuing:
               (1)  an ordinary negligence claim against an employer
  defendant for negligence in maintaining the commercial motor
  vehicle involved in an accident;
               (2)  an ordinary negligence claim against an employer
  defendant for another claim that does not require a finding of
  negligence by an employee as a prerequisite to an employer
  defendant being found negligent for its conduct or omission, or
  from presenting evidence on that claim in the first phase of a
  bifurcated trial; or 
               (3)  a claim for exemplary damages arising from an
  employer defendant's conduct or omissions in relation to the
  accident that is the subject of the action as provided by Chapter
  41, or from presenting evidence on that claim in the second phase of
  a bifurcated trial.
         Sec. 72.055.  ADMISSIBILITY OF VISUAL DEPICTIONS OF
  ACCIDENT. (a)  In a civil action under this subchapter, a court may
  not require expert testimony for admission into evidence of a
  photograph or video of a vehicle or object involved in an accident.
         (b)  If properly authenticated under the Texas Rules of
  Evidence, a photograph or video of a vehicle or object involved in
  an accident is presumed admissible, even if the photograph or video
  tends to support or refute an assertion regarding the severity of
  damages or injury to an object or person involved in the accident
  that is the subject of a civil action under this subchapter.
         SECTION 6.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
  an action commenced on or after the effective date of this Act.  An
  action commenced before the effective date of this Act is governed
  by the law applicable to the action immediately before the
  effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
  that purpose.
         SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2021.