By: Culberson H.B. No. 774
73R2305 DAK-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the ability to recover damages for injuries to a
1-3 convicted criminal arising from the commission of the offense.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Title 4, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
1-6 amended by adding Chapter 87 to read as follows:
1-7 CHAPTER 87. LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN INJURIES TO CONVICTED
1-8 PERSONS
1-9 Sec. 87.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "claimant" means
1-10 a party, including a plaintiff, counterclaimant, cross-claimant, or
1-11 third-party claimant, seeking recovery of damages.
1-12 Sec. 87.002. RECOVERY OF DAMAGES FOR INJURY TO CONVICTED
1-13 PERSON PROHIBITED. (a) A claimant who has been convicted of a
1-14 felony or misdemeanor may not recover damages for an injury
1-15 sustained during the commission of the felony or misdemeanor if the
1-16 injury would not have been sustained but for the commission of the
1-17 felony or misdemeanor.
1-18 (b) Subsection (a) does not bar the claimant from recovering
1-19 damages if the claimant shows that:
1-20 (1) the damages arose from an act entirely separate
1-21 from any act intended to result in the:
1-22 (A) prevention of the commission of a felony or
1-23 misdemeanor by the claimant; or
1-24 (B) apprehension of the claimant during or
2-1 immediately after the commission of the felony or misdemeanor; and
2-2 (2) the damages did not arise from a premises defect
2-3 or other circumstance that the claimant would not have been exposed
2-4 to had the claimant not committed the felony or misdemeanor.
2-5 Sec. 87.003. DERIVATIVE CLAIMS. Section 87.002 applies to a
2-6 claim for damages made by a claimant other than a convicted person
2-7 if:
2-8 (1) the claimant's right to recovery results from an
2-9 injury to a convicted person, including a claim for the wrongful
2-10 death of the convicted person or a claim for loss of consortium
2-11 with or loss of the companionship of the convicted person; and
2-12 (2) the convicted person's right to recovery would be
2-13 barred under Section 87.002.
2-14 Sec. 87.004. CLAIMANT LIABLE FOR COURT COSTS AND FEES AND
2-15 ATTORNEY'S FEES. A claimant who is barred from recovery under this
2-16 chapter is liable to the person against whom the claim is brought
2-17 for court costs and fees and reasonable attorney's fees incurred in
2-18 defending against the claim.
2-19 Sec. 87.005. TRAFFIC LAW VIOLATIONS EXCLUDED. This chapter
2-20 does not apply to a claim arising from an offense defined in the
2-21 Uniform Act Regulating Traffic on Highways (Article 6701d, Vernon's
2-22 Texas Civil Statutes).
2-23 Sec. 87.006. CONVICTED PERSON. For purposes of this
2-24 chapter, a person is considered convicted in a case if:
2-25 (1) sentence is imposed; or
2-26 (2) the person receives a fine, probation, or deferred
2-27 adjudication.
3-1 SECTION 2. Chapter 87, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as
3-2 added by this Act, applies only to conduct that occurs on or after
3-3 the effective date of this Act. Conduct that occurred before the
3-4 effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the
3-5 time the conduct occurred, and that law is continued in effect for
3-6 that purpose.
3-7 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
3-8 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-9 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-10 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-11 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
3-12 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
3-13 passage, and it is so enacted.