By Combs H.B. No. 2279 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to a property owner's or contractor's liability for 1-3 certain claims. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. Amend Title 4, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, 1-6 by adding a new Chapter 95 to read as follows: 1-7 CHAPTER 95. PROPERTY OWNER'S AND CONTRACTOR'S LIABILITY. 1-8 Sec. 95.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: 1-9 (1) "Claim" means a claim for damages caused by 1-10 negligence or gross negligence, including a counterclaim, 1-11 crossclaim, or third-party claim. 1-12 (2) "Claimant" means a party making a claim subject to 1-13 this chapter. 1-14 (3) "Premises contractor" means any contractor who 1-15 agrees in writing to perform, supervise, or subcontract work for a 1-16 property owner. The term includes any subcontractor who agrees in 1-17 writing with a contractor or another subcontractor to perform all 1-18 or part of such work, or who subcontracts all or part of such work 1-19 to another subcontractor. 1-20 (4) "Property owner" means a person who owns, leases, 1-21 controls, manages, operates, or maintains real property. 1-22 (5) "Workers' compensation insurance coverage" means 1-23 workers' compensation insurance coverage as defined in Section 2-1 401.011, Labor Code. 2-2 Sec. 95.002. THIRD-PARTY LIABILITY. (a) Notwithstanding 2-3 the provisions of Section 417.001(a), Labor Code, a property owner 2-4 or premises contractor is not liable for a claim if: 2-5 (1) the claimant is an employee, a legal beneficiary 2-6 of an employee, or any other person asserting a claim based on the 2-7 injury or death of an employee of a person or entity providing 2-8 services, including equipment and material incidental to such 2-9 services, under contract with a property owner or premises 2-10 contractor; 2-11 (2) The claimant is an employee who is covered by 2-12 workers' compensation insurance coverage, a legal beneficiary of an 2-13 employee who is covered by workers' compensation insurance 2-14 coverage, or any other person asserting a claim based on the injury 2-15 or death of an employee who is covered by workers' compensation 2-16 insurance coverage; and 2-17 (3) the claimant or employee, a legal beneficiary of 2-18 an employee, or any other person asserting a claim based on the 2-19 injury or death of an employee has received or is eligible to 2-20 receive workers' compensation benefits for the death of or 2-21 work-related injury sustained by the employee. 2-22 (b) This section does not prohibit the recovery of exemplary 2-23 damages by the surviving spouse or heirs of the body of a deceased 2-24 employee whose death was caused by an intentional act or omission 2-25 of the employer, property owner, or premises contractor or by the 3-1 employer's, property owner's, or premises contractor's gross 3-2 negligence. 3-3 SECTION 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect September 3-4 1, 1995. This Act applies to a suit filed on or after the 3-5 effective date of this Act. A suit filed before the effective date 3-6 of this Act is governed by the law applicable to the action 3-7 immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is 3-8 continued in effect for that purpose. 3-9 SECTION 3. EMERGENCY. The importance of this legislation 3-10 and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 3-11 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 3-12 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 3-13 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.