June 6th, 2005

Rick Perry, the Texas Governor, has signed Senate Bill 15 – legislation that is designed to put an end to frivolous lawsuits. The governor signed the bill in downtown Beaumont, with both supporters and opposition waiting outside. One person opposing the signing was Jude Paradez, who informed reporters that the bill would do more harm than good to many asbestos patients. He said, “I would like to meet Governor Perry and ask him why he wants to hurt cancer patients. There are people in the hospital that would like to come out but they`re too weak to walk. So, I`m walking for them.”

However, Perry saw the signing in a very different light: “Today, Texas is taking a significant step to improve our civil justice for victims of asbestos exposure. Texas has become the national haven for these questionable frivolous lawsuits. Forty percent of all of the asbestos lawsuits are filed here in Texas.” This is what the governor had to say about his decision to bring the legislation to into law, despite controversy and opposition from many people, including sufferers of asbestos related diseases.

Yet another view has been put forward by an attorney, Brent Coon. He thinks that the legislation is designed to protect businesses rather than the sufferers. He stated, “Senate Bill 15 is nothing more than the result of big business playing dirty politics. The hypocrisy of a governor who comes up here with a straight face and says he`s doing this for his community that`s a lie. That`s a lie.”