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." - The Girards Law Firm