BELLAIRE, Texas — On his first day as governor of Texas, George W. Bush declared that limiting lawsuits was an "emergency issue" for his state.
"We must put a stop to the frivolous and junk lawsuits which clog our courts," he said in January 1995, a popular line he has repeated often since then.
Getting rid of "frivolous" suits -- or even defining them -- proved difficult, but the new governor won limits on how much money could be awarded in the biggest cases. For example, punitive damages were capped at twice the amount of a victim's loss.
But the legal-reform movement Bush launched in Texas has gone far beyond questions of monetary awards. Among other things, it has led to limits on the right to sue in the first place.
"Texas has gone from one of the most friendly states for consumer protection to one of the most anti-consumer states," said University of Houston law professor Richard M. Alderman, an expert on consumer rights. "It all began in 1995. Bush oversaw a significant retreat for consumer protection, and it was all done under the guise of attacking 'frivolous' lawsuits."
The impact has been felt by home buyers such as Mary and Keith Cohn, whose elegant new residence in this well-off Houston suburb came with a leaky roof that led to rotting and moldy wallboard throughout the structure. After their daughters became ill, the Cohns moved out. The repairs ultimately cost more than $300,000.
To their astonishment and dismay, they learned that when the builder refused to repair most of the damage, they could not sue him for redress. Instead, they could pursue private arbitration, a process they considered stacked against them.
"This is the largest purchase of your life," said Mary Cohn, "but you have zero consumer protection."
Since leaving Texas for Washington, Bush has continued to voice his disdain for "frivolous and junk lawsuits," although his administration has pushed only two relatively modest changes so far: capping noneconomic damages in medical malpractice claims and funneling class-action lawsuits into federal courts. Democrats in the Senate have stalled both proposals.
But Bush served notice at this summer's Republican National Convention that if reelected, he plans to make "tort reform" a key part of his second-term agenda. In the president's view, lawsuits raise costs for businesses, doctors and ultimately consumers. He says there are better ways to protect the public against shoddy products and services.
