1st Amendment Against Texas Insurance

DALLAS, June 18 /PRNewswire/ -- On June 18, 2010, the Registrant of the website www.TMLTExposed.org  filed suit against Texas Medical Liability Trust in the 68th Judicial District Court of Dallas County, Texas requesting a declaratory judgment that the contents of the website are protected speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 8 of the Texas Constitution. Texas Medical Liability Trust is a provider of medical liability insurance with offices in Austin, Texas. This action comes after lawyers for Texas Medical Liability Trust interfered with the provider services agreement between the Registrant, The Girards Law Firm of Dallas, Texas, and the domain services provider, Domains by Proxy, Inc. of Scottsdale, Arizona, demanding information regarding the Registration of the website and certain electronic data. Lawyers for Texas Medical Liability Trust threatened litigation against various parties including Domains by Proxy and the Registrant related to www.TMLTExposed.org  if Domains by Proxy failed to comply, and were successful in securing Domains by Proxy's cooperation.

James E. Girards is the Principal of The Girards Law Firm, which registered the website. Girards stated, "TMLTExposed.org is a website containing a collection of publicly available information regarding the conduct of Texas Medical Liability Trust in medical malpractice lawsuits, as well as the laws allowing that entity to exist and conduct itself in the insurance marketplace in Texas. The information raises important and disturbing questions about how insurance providers are allowed to conduct themselves in Texas and advocates changes in the law to protect healthcare consumers who are injured by healthcare corporations or Big Insurance." Girards said, "This website was posted within the boundaries of the United States Supreme Court interpretations of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and Texas Medical Liability Trust's actions against the website and the Registrant are an example of how emboldened and unrestrained the insurance industry is in Texas. By this legal action we intend to show that the First Amendment and Texas law still apply in Texas – even against Big Insurance."

SOURCE The Girards Law Firm