CHAPTER 138. PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR FOOD CONSUMPTION
CIVIL PRACTICE AND REMEDIES CODE
TITLE 6. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
CHAPTER 138. PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR FOOD CONSUMPTION
Sec. 138.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Agricultural commodity" has the meaning assigned by Section
41.002, Agriculture Code.
(2) "Agricultural producer" means any producer of an
agricultural commodity.
(3) "Food" has the definition assigned by Section 431.002,
Health and Safety Code. "Food" does not include:
(A) a cosmetic, as defined by Section 321(i) of the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. Section 321 (i));
(B) a drug, as defined by Section 321(g) of the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. Section 321(g)), whether
prescription or over-the-counter; or
(C) a dietary supplement, as defined by Section 321(ff) of the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. Section 321(ff)).
(4) "Livestock" has the meaning assigned by Section 1.003,
Agriculture Code.
(5) "Livestock producer" means any producer of livestock.
(6) "Manufacturer" means a person lawfully engaged, in the
regular course of the person's trade or business, in
manufacturing a food.
(7) "Seller" means a person lawfully engaged, in the regular
course of the person's trade or business, in marketing,
distributing, advertising, or selling a food.
(8) "State" includes each state of the United States, the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin
Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands and any other territory or possession of
the United States and any political subdivision of any of those
places.
(9) "Trade association" means any association or business
organization, whether or not incorporated under federal or state
law, that is not operated for profit and two or more members of
which are manufacturers, marketers, distributors, advertisers, or
sellers of a food.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
906, Sec. 1, eff. June 18, 2005.
Sec. 138.002. CIVIL ACTION PROHIBITED. (a) Except as otherwise
provided by this section, a manufacturer, seller, trade
association, livestock producer, or agricultural producer is not
liable under any law of this state for any claim arising out of
weight gain or obesity, a health condition associated with weight
gain or obesity, or any other generally known condition allegedly
caused by or allegedly likely to result from the long-term
consumption of food, including:
(1) an action brought by a person other than the individual on
whose weight gain, obesity, or health condition the action is
based; and
(2) any derivative action brought by or on behalf of any
individual or any representative, spouse, parent, child, or other
relative of any individual.
(b) This section does not prohibit a person from bringing:
(1) an action in which:
(A) a manufacturer or seller of a food knowingly and wilfully
violates a federal or state statute applicable to the
manufacturing, marketing, distribution, advertisement, labeling,
or sale of the food; and
(B) the violation is a proximate cause of injury related to an
individual's weight gain or obesity or any health condition
associated with an individual's weight gain or obesity; or
(2) an action brought:
(A) under Chapter 431, Health and Safety Code; or
(B) by the attorney general under Section 17.47, Business &
Commerce Code.
(c) This section does not create a cause of action.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
906, Sec. 1, eff. June 18, 2005.
Sec. 138.003. PLEADINGS. In an action described in Section
138.002(b)(1), the initiating petition must state with
particularity:
(1) the federal and state statutes allegedly violated; and
(2) the facts that are alleged to have proximately caused the
injury claimed.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
906, Sec. 1, eff. June 18, 2005.
Sec. 138.004. STAY. (a) For an action described by Section
138.002(b), all discovery and other proceedings are stayed during
the pendency of any motion to dismiss unless the court finds on
motion of any party that particularized discovery is necessary to
preserve evidence or to prevent undue prejudice to that party.
(b) During the pendency of any stay of discovery, unless
otherwise ordered by the court, any party to the action with
actual notice of the allegations contained in the petition shall
treat all documents, data compilations, including electronically
recorded or stored data, and tangible objects that are in the
custody or control of the person and that are relevant to the
allegations, as if they were the subject of a continuing request
for production of documents from an opposing party under the
applicable rules of civil procedure.
(c) A party aggrieved by the wilful failure of an opposing party
to comply with this section may apply to the court for an order
awarding appropriate sanctions.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
906, Sec. 1, eff. June 18, 2005.