By:  Nixon                                   S.B. No. 1147

         97S0224/1                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

                                       AN ACT

 1-1     relating to vexatious litigants.

 1-2           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-3           SECTION 1.  Title 6, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is

 1-4     amended by adding Chapter 137 to read as follows:

 1-5                     CHAPTER 137.  VEXATIOUS LITIGATION

 1-6           Sec. 137.001.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:

 1-7                 (1)  "Defendant" means a person against whom a

 1-8     litigation is brought or maintained or sought to be brought or

 1-9     maintained.

1-10                 (2)  "Plaintiff" means the person who commences,

1-11     institutes, or maintains a litigation or causes it to be commenced,

1-12     instituted, or maintained.

1-13                 (3)  "Security" means cash, an undertaking by a surety,

1-14     or other security, of a nature and in an amount fixed by a court,

1-15     to assure payment, to the party for whose benefit the security is

1-16     required to be furnished, of such party's reasonable expenses,

1-17     including attorney's fees and not limited to taxable costs,

1-18     incurred in or in connection with a litigation instituted or caused

1-19     to be instituted or maintained or caused to be maintained by a

1-20     vexatious litigant.

1-21                 (4)  "Vexatious litigant" means any person who in the

1-22     immediately preceding five-year period has commenced, prosecuted,

1-23     or maintained in propria persona at least five litigations other

 2-1     than in a small claims court that have been:

 2-2                       (A)  finally determined adversely to the person;

 2-3     or

 2-4                       (B)  unjustifiably permitted to remain pending

 2-5     for at least two years without having been brought to trial or

 2-6     hearing.

 2-7           Sec. 137.002.  ORDER TO FURNISH SECURITY; AMOUNT.  If, after

 2-8     hearing evidence on a motion, the court determines that a plaintiff

 2-9     is a vexatious litigant and that there is no reasonable probability

2-10     that the plaintiff will prevail in the litigation against the

2-11     moving defendant, the court shall order the plaintiff to furnish,

2-12     for the benefit of the moving defendant, security of a nature, in

2-13     an amount, and within a time determined by the court.  The amount

2-14     of the security may thereafter from time to time be increased or

2-15     decreased, at the court's discretion, on a showing that the

2-16     security provided has or may become inadequate or excessive.

2-17           Sec. 137.003.  DISMISSAL FOR FAILURE TO FURNISH SECURITY.

2-18     When security that has been ordered furnished under Section 137.002

2-19     is not furnished as ordered, the litigation shall be dismissed as

2-20     to the defendant for whose benefit the security was ordered

2-21     furnished.

2-22           Sec. 137.004.  RECOURSE TO SECURITY UPON TERMINATION OF

2-23     LITIGATION.  On termination of the litigation the defendant shall

2-24     have recourse to the security in an amount determined by the court.

2-25           Sec. 137.005.  STAY OF PROCEEDINGS.  When a motion pursuant

 3-1     to this chapter is filed the litigation is stayed, and the moving

 3-2     defendant need not plead, until 10 days after the motion shall have

 3-3     been denied, or if the motion is granted, until 10 days after the

 3-4     required security has been furnished and the moving defendant given

 3-5     written notice thereof.

 3-6           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 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.