Lawmaker: Wait on Concrete Data Before Reforming Attorney Fees

A Democratic lawmaker says it would be “speculative” and premature to consider legislation to cap claimants’ attorney fees during the 2018 session because concrete data that proves or disproves rising costs will not become available for at least another year. During a House Commerce Committee hearing on Tuesday, lawmakers heard that the state Supreme Court’s Castellanos decision, which reopened the door to hourly attorney fees, would trigger “significant” but as of now unquantifiable increases in fees and litigation. But committee members also hea...