§ 98A.004.Cause of Action Cumulative

The only qualified cumulative provision in this group of chapters.

The cause of action is cumulative of any other remedy provided by common law or statute — except that a person may not recover damages in a suit under this chapter in which the cause of action is based on a transaction or occurrence that is the basis for a suit under Chapter 98.

The exception prevents double recovery on one course of conduct. Trafficking and compelled prostitution overlap substantially — much sex trafficking is also compelling prostitution — and without the limit a claimant could recover twice for the same facts under two chapters with identical damages provisions.

The bar runs one way. It is this chapter that yields: recovery is unavailable here where the same transaction or occurrence is the basis of a trafficking suit. The trafficking chapter's own cumulative provision carries no such limit.

The trigger is a suit under Chapter 98 on the same transaction or occurrence, not merely conduct that would also qualify. A claimant who pleads only this chapter is unaffected.

The practical consequence is a choice at the pleading stage. Since the damages provisions are identical, the choice turns on which elements are easier to establish — trafficking reaches beneficiaries of a venture and carries shareholder liability; this chapter reaches advertisers on a "should know" standard.

Both carry joint and several liability, so that consideration does not distinguish them.