Trial Lawyers Spent Millions in 2008 Election Cycle
State’s most notorious plaintiff lawyers target lawsuit reforms
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 21, 2008
Contact: Sherry Sylvester
210-241-5296
sherrysylvester@satx.rr.com
(AUSTIN, TX) Personal injury trial lawyers poured millions of dollars into Texas elections this cycle including over $6 million to front groups and the Texas Democratic Party. Beginning January 1, campaign finance reports reveal hundreds of major campaign contributions from wealthy trial attorneys determined to roll back lawsuit reform in Texas.
“The lawsuit industry has anted up millions this cycle to elect lawmakers who will work to reverse reforms and create more opportunities to file lawsuits,” said TLR PAC Director Justin Unruh.
Personal injury trial lawyers provided almost ninety percent of the campaign contributions to the Texas Democratic Party and an even larger percentage to Texans for Insurance Reform, a trial lawyer front group.
The Texas Democratic Trust reported raising $4,028,701 in contributions for state races in 2008 including $2,218,201 in contributions from a single Dallas personal injury trial attorney, the late Fred Baron, who acquired his wealth in mass asbestos lawsuits.
The Texas Democratic Party reported raising $3,950,470 almost all from personal injury trial lawyers. Baron’s Texas Democratic Trust reported $1,994,759 in contributions to the Democratic Party and dozens of other trial lawyers contributed $1,990,700. 87 % of all contributions to the Texas Democratic Party were from trial lawyers.
TEXAS’ MOST NOTORIOUS TRIAL LAWYERS SPEND BIG
Though the trial lawyer tycoons also contributed to individual candidates, their biggest contributions were directed to the Texas Democratic Party and two trial lawyer front groups which then funneled the dollars to legislative candidates.
In addition to Baron, Houston attorney, John Eddie Williams, one of the Tobacco Five attorneys who shared a $3.3 billion tobacco fee awarded by former Attorney General and convicted felon Dan Morales, gave a total of $765,000 to the front groups and the Democratic Party.
San Antonio trial lawyer Mikal Watts, who has bragged that he could influence appellate court judges because of his campaign contributions, gave $480,000 total to the Texas Democratic Party and Texans for Insurance Reform.
Watts also contributed another $444,000 to his own political action committee. Although the PAC does not bear his name Vote Texas, is almost exclusively supported by Watts who uses the contributions to support opponents of lawsuit reform.
Nix Patterson & Roach, Provost Humphrey and Reaud Morgan Quinn, three of the firms that also received a cut of the $3.3 billion tobacco fee, also contributed to the trial lawyer front groups and the Democratic Party. Nix Patterson and Provost Humphrey each gave $375,000. Reaud Morgan gave $250,000. Houston trial lawyer John O’Quinn, who was fined $41 million last year for cheating his clients, also contributed $100,000 to the Texas Democratic Party.
Meanwhile, the deceptively named Texans for Insurance Reform reported raising $1,722,150 of which $1,679,500 came from trial lawyers – 97% of their total contributions. Watts and the Tobacco Five trial lawyers all made six figure contributions.
Personal injury trial lawyers represent only a tiny sliver of the legal community and an even smaller segment of Texas businesses and professionals. The accurately named Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC
is the political arm of Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the state's largest civil justice reform organization. TLR is a bipartisan, volunteer-led coalition with more than 16,000 supporters residing in 818 Texas
communities and representing 1,266 different businesses, professions and trades. For more information
about TLR visit www.tortreform.com.
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