|
House Bill 1492 |
House Author: Miller, Doug et al. |
|
Effective: 9-1-15 |
Senate Sponsor: Schwertner |
House Bill 1492 amends Civil Practice and Remedies Code provisions relating to asbestos or silica trust claims. The bill requires a claimant who has filed an action to recover damages for or arising from an asbestos- or silica-related injury to make a trust claim against each asbestos or silica trust the claimant believes may owe the claimant compensation or damages for the injury that is the basis of the action, except that a claimant may file a motion to seek relief from that obligation if the claimant believes the fees and expenses for filing the claim exceed the reasonably anticipated recovery from the trust. A claimant is required to notify each party of, and trust claim material relating to, each trust claim made by or on behalf of the exposed person. A multidistrict litigation (MDL) pretrial court is prohibited from remanding an action to a trial court unless the claimant has made each claim and served notice of those claims. The bill authorizes a defendant to file a motion to stay the proceedings and the claimant to file a response to that motion. The court is required to grant the defendant's motion if the court determines the motion was timely filed and the claimant is likely to receive compensation from a trust identified by the motion. The bill applies to an action commenced on or after or pending on September 1, 2015.
House Bill 1492 requires all actions for an asbestos-related injury that were pending on August 31, 2005, to be dismissed on or before December 31, 2015.