By Culberson, et al.                                   H.B. No. 692
                                 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 was exposed to as a result
    2-4  of the commission of 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        Sec. 87.007.  APPLICABILITY.  This chapter does not apply to:
    3-2              (1)  a claim for an injury sustained during the
    3-3  commission of an offense under Section 30.05, Penal Code, other
    3-4  than a trespass in a habitation or shelter, brought by a person who
    3-5  has not been convicted of another crime that occurred in
    3-6  conjunction with the trespass; or
    3-7              (2)  a claim in which the conduct of the owner of the
    3-8  premises is grossly negligent or intentional, other than conduct
    3-9  justified under Subchapter C, Chapter 9, Penal Code.
   3-10        SECTION 2.  Chapter 87, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as
   3-11  added by this Act, applies only to conduct that occurs on or after
   3-12  the effective date of this Act.  Conduct that occurred before the
   3-13  effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the
   3-14  time the conduct occurred, and that law is continued in effect for
   3-15  that purpose.
   3-16        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
   3-17  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   3-18  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   3-19  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   3-20  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
   3-21  and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
   3-22  passage, and it is so enacted.