1-1 By: Wentworth S.C.R. No. 1 1-2 (In the Senate - Filed November 16, 2000; January 11, 2001, 1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence; 1-4 March 28, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 4, 1-5 Nays 0, 1 present, not voting; March 28, 2001, sent to printer.) 1-6 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-7 WHEREAS, R. C. Crawford and Crawford Heavy and Marine 1-8 Construction Limited allege that: 1-9 (1) on October 14, 1991, R. C. Crawford and Crawford 1-10 Heavy and Marine Construction Limited submitted a bid and were 1-11 subsequently issued a contract for work to be performed for the 1-12 Texas Department of Transportation to repair a roadway between Katy 1-13 and Houston, Texas; 1-14 (2) the contract for repair was eventually terminated 1-15 and R. C. Crawford and Crawford Heavy and Marine Construction 1-16 Limited and the Texas Department of Transportation entered into a 1-17 dispute over money owed to R. C. Crawford and Crawford Heavy and 1-18 Marine Construction Limited for work completed and other damages; 1-19 (3) an administrative hearing was held, and shortly 1-20 after the hearing R. C. Crawford discovered that the Texas 1-21 Department of Transportation had withheld evidence from R. C. 1-22 Crawford and the attorneys of Crawford Heavy and Marine 1-23 Construction Limited; 1-24 (4) R. C. Crawford and the attorneys of Crawford Heavy 1-25 and Marine Construction Limited did not have an opportunity to 1-26 review the withheld material prior to the hearing, and the withheld 1-27 material could have had significant influence on the facts of the 1-28 case presented by R. C. Crawford and Crawford Heavy and Marine 1-29 Construction Limited; 1-30 (5) eventually the administrative law judge made a 1-31 ruling in favor of R. C. Crawford and Crawford Heavy and Marine 1-32 Construction Limited based only on the information as it was 1-33 presented by R. C. Crawford and the attorneys of Crawford Heavy and 1-34 Marine Construction Limited before they were aware of the 1-35 information withheld by Texas Department of Transportation, and the 1-36 ruling, based on the record before the discovery of the withheld 1-37 evidence, was rejected by R. C. Crawford and Crawford Heavy and 1-38 Marine Construction Limited; 1-39 (6) as a result of the actions of the Texas Department 1-40 of Transportation, R. C. Crawford lost his bonding capacity, and 1-41 eventually lost his business, namely Crawford Heavy and Marine 1-42 Construction Limited; and 1-43 (7) R. C. Crawford and Crawford Heavy and Marine 1-44 Construction Limited are entitled to recover compensation for the 1-45 work performed, lost bonding damages, attorney's fees, and all 1-46 other damages as allowed by law except exemplary or punitive 1-47 damages; now, therefore, be it 1-48 RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Texas, That R. C. 1-49 Crawford and Crawford Heavy and Marine Construction Limited are 1-50 granted permission to sue the State of Texas and the Texas 1-51 Department of Transportation subject to Chapter 107, Civil Practice 1-52 and Remedies Code; and, be it further 1-53 RESOLVED, That the suit authorized by this resolution shall 1-54 be brought in Travis County; and, be it further 1-55 RESOLVED, That the total of all damages awarded in the suit 1-56 authorized by this resolution, including any court costs, and any 1-57 prejudgment interest awarded under law, may not exceed $3 million, 1-58 plus the addition to that amount of any attorney's fees, that R. C. 1-59 Crawford and Crawford Heavy and Marine Construction Limited may not 1-60 plead an amount in excess of that amount in a suit authorized by 1-61 this resolution, and that this is the total amount that may be 1-62 recovered with respect to the contract that is the subject of this 1-63 resolution in all actions brought with respect to that contract; 1-64 and, be it further 2-1 RESOLVED, That the executive director of the Texas Department 2-2 of Transportation be served process as provided by Subdivision (3), 2-3 Subsection (a), Section 107.002, Civil Practice and Remedies Code. 2-4 * * * * *