San Antonio court rules certain future structured settlement payments cannot be transferred.

As a matter of first impression, the Fourth Court of Appeals held that future payments under a structured settlement workers’ compensation claim made pursuant to the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (“the LHWCA”) cannot subsequently be transferred to another party under the Texas Structured Settlement Protection Act (“the SSPA”). After overruling an issue challenging the court's appellate jurisdiction and denying a motion to take judicial notice of a letter outside of the appellate record, the panel unanimously agreed that principles of statutory construction supported that such future payments generally cannot be transferred.