AUSTIN – The American Tort Reform Foundation has placed Texas on the Judicial Hellholes Watch List, warning that the state’s civil justice system is eroding under runaway verdicts, lawsuits based on junk science and a politically-driven suing spree from Attorney General Ken Paxton.
ATRF’s report states that for decades Texas “has stood as the gold standard” for balanced courts and a fair civil justice system, but now a new wave of nuclear verdicts has formed cracks in what was once a solid foundation.
“Texas is home to some of the nation’s largest nuclear verdicts,” said Robert Wood, spokesperson for Texans Against Lawsuit Abuse. “Court awards topping $10 million are far too common in Texas. In 2023 alone, six of the top ten verdicts in the country were handed down in Texas, totaling over $200 million.”
In 2025, Texas courts delivered some of the largest verdicts in state history, including $831 million in San Antonio and $640 million in Harris County.
Joyce
“Texas once set the standard for courtroom fairness,” said ATRF President Tiger Joyce. “Now, some courts, and even the state’s top law enforcement official (Paxton), are chasing headlines instead of justice. Unchecked, this trend could turn Texas into a full-blown Judicial Hellhole.”
ATRF says Paxton’s “bandwagon pharmaceutical litigation” contributed to Texas’ inclusion on the Watch List.
Paxton
In October, not long after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made speculative claims tying prenatal Tylenol use to autism, Paxton sued Tylenol maker, Kenvue, and explicitly invoked the “Make America Healthy Again” slogan.
The law firm Keller Postman is handling both Paxton’s Tylenol lawsuit and the national Tylenol MDL, which is pending in the 2nd Circuit after the court heard oral arguments in an appeal last month.
The same firm has litigated other high-profile cases that Paxton waged against social media and tech companies, echoing efforts in Judicial Hellholes such as New York City, where a judge allowed novel claims against Instagram and TikTok this year.
ATRF notes that Texas’s similarities to New York don’t end with the AG’s “suing spree,” as the state’s lawmakers introduced more than 750 new causes of action against businesses and healthcare providers.
The report includes a “Closer Looks” section on the proliferation of private rights of action, which names Texas among states like New York and California where lawmakers continue to create new ways to sue.
During his time as attorney general, Paxton has unleashed a wave of lawsuits targeting industries ranging from baby food and toothpaste to over-the-counter medicine, often relying on agenda-driven science and outside trial lawyers with political ties, according to ATRF.
“When the attorney general uses his office to amplify made-for-litigation science, every business and consumer in Texas pays the price,” Joyce said. “These cases may make splashy headlines, but they undermine the rule of law and push Texas closer to becoming a true Judicial Hellhole.”
Paxton is challenging Texas’s incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the upcoming March 3 primary.
Legal reform advocates maintain Cornyn is a staunch supporter of lawsuit reform and, among other efforts to curb abusive and excessive litigation, has pushed for transparency in lawsuit funding.
ATRF says recent data shows that lawsuit abuse costs Texans an average of $1,724 each year — a “tort tax” of $6,896 for a family of four, representing an 18 percent increase in just four years.
Furthermore, excessive litigation leads to the loss of nearly one-half million jobs each year in the Lone Star State.
While the Texas Supreme Court continues to provide a fair and balanced check on abuse, overturning excessive awards when possible, ATRF says the state’s high court cannot review every case.
“The Texas Supreme Court has been a voice of reason,” Joyce said. “But unless trial courts and political leaders get serious about fairness and defending the rule of law, Texas courts are in jeopardy, and it’s hard working Texas families who pay the price for lawsuit abuse.”
Though the Texas Court of Appeals for the 5th District was on the Watch List in past years, the report found that recent elections improved the composition of the appellate courts.
Texas is one of six jurisdictions included on the Watch List.
