Texas Attorney General Opinion: DM-403 Page: 3 of 7
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The Honorable Clyde Alexander - Page 3
You indicate that, despite the new statutory limitation on liability, a commercial
train operator, Union Pacific Rail Corporation, requires excursion train operators that use
its trackage to carry liability insurance in a minimum amount of $25 million per occur-
rence. Union Pacific, you state, believes that the new law is unconstitutional. You
therefore ask about the constitutionality of V.T.C.S. article 9030, section 2(a) and (b).
You do not indicate which constitutional provision or provisions you are concerned about.
We believe, however, that article 1, section 13 of the Texas Constitution is the relevant
provision.
Article I, section 13 of the Texas Constitution mandates that all courts be open and
that every person whose real or personal property, body, or reputation is injured have a
remedy by due course of law.lo Article I, section 13 guarantees not only access to the
courts, but meaningful access." As one court has said, article I, section 13 guarantees a
plaintiff the right "to obtain full redress for injuries caused by another's wrongful con-
duct."'2 The Texas Supreme Court has interpreted this "open courts" provision to forbid
the legislature to deny a citizen the right to seek through the courts a remedy for an inten-
tional injury.'3 In addition, the court has applied the open courts provision in cases
involving negligent injury.14
In our opinion, the Texas Supreme Court's decision in Lucas v. United States"
controls how we must analyze your question. In that case, the court addressed the consti-
tutionality of the statutory limitation on damages a plaintiff can receive in a medical-
malpractice action.16 Specifically, V.T.C.S. article 4590i, section 11.02(a) limits a physi-
cian's or health-care provider's civil liability in a medical malpractice action to $500,000."7
This limitation does not apply to medical, hospital, and custodial-care expenses, how-
lOSee generally 1 GEORGE D. BRADEN ET AL., THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: AN
ANNOTATED AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSIs 47, 50-51 (1977).
11Lucas v. United States, 757 S.W.2d 687, 690 (Tex. 1988) (emphasis added).
12Detar Hosp., Inc. v. Estrada, 694 S.W.2d 359, 366 (Tex. App.--Corpus Christi 1985, no writ).
"3Middleton v. Texas Power & Light Co., 185 S.W. 556, 561 (Tex. 1916). See generally
Joseph P. Witherspoon, Constitutionality of the Texas Statute Limiting Liabilityfor Medical Malpractice,
10 TEx. TECH. L. REv. 419, 424-26 (1979).
14See Lucas, 757 S.W.2d at 688, 690; Sax v. Votteler, 648 S.W.2d 661, 664, 665 (Tex. 1983);
see also Detar Hosp., Inc., 694 S.W.2d at 361, 365-66.
15757 S.W.2d 687 (Tex. 1988).
"Id. at 687.
17d. at 688-89 (quoting V.T.C.S. art. 4590i, 11.02(b)).p. 2213
(DM-403)
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: DM-403, text, June 29, 1996; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth274212/m1/3/?q=%22Government+and+Law+-+Elected+Officials+-+Attorneys+General%22: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.