First pre-trial hearing held Monday for 530 TPC explosion-related lawsuits
First pre-trial hearing held Monday for 530 TPC explosion-related lawsuits
Court proceedings started on Monday in the first pre-trial hearing related to the TPC Group facility explosion in Port Neches.
Judge Courtney Arkeen presided over the first hearing about 10 months after the plant exploded in late November 2019.
Arkeen told 12News Monday allowed lawyers on both sides to meet and talk about logistics.
As of October 5, there are 530 individual lawsuits filed.
Judge Arkeen presides over the 128th district court in Orange County. You may be wondering why she is handling the hearings since the explosion happened in Jefferson County.
First, there are several lawsuits involved. For example, Brent Coon & Associates will represent more than 1,000 plaintiffs.
“The explosion impacted the bulk of the Mid-County region, the blast radius caused the evacuation of many thousands of people. A lot of properties were damaged,” Coon said.
Lawyer Mark Sparks is also working with a number of those affected by the explosion.
TPC’s attorneys asked the Texas Supreme Court for a request to consolidate all the claims to one district judge to ensure the cases are all handled the same.
A multi-district litigation panel ruled over the summer to allow that to happen, and Arkeen was appointed.
Arkeen told 12News she’ll handle the pre-trial matters, and then she’ll send the lawsuits back to the original courts for trial.
“So what Judge Arkeen does is she works all of the cases up for trial, so what does that mean? She handles challenges to experts, motions for summary judgement issues regarding preservation of evidence,” Sparks said.
Sparks and Coon say the process means they’ll work together to gather evidence and find out what happened on that November night nearly a year ago.
search
our offices
FROM THE BLOG
Car Accident Lawyers: What’s the Cost?
After getting into a car accident, you might want to file a claim as soon as possible to get compensation for your damages and injuries. Doing so will help you avoid any financial burden, and you can focus on recovering and getting back to your normal life. However, the pain and the discomfort might not…
Personal Injury Case: Definition
A personal injury case can be a powerful tool for justice. After suffering an injury due to someone else’s negligence, medical bills could pile up, you may be unable to work, or you may not be able to enjoy your life as you once did. It might be time to file a personal injury claim.…
Lung Cancer Facts
Our Mission The attorneys at Brent Coon & Associates have dedicated our professional lives to helping the families affected by asbestos. Lawyers at BCA have seen many communities nationwide devastated by asbestos exposure that occurred on the job. A veteran of hundreds of jury trials, Brent Coon & Associates has obtained verdicts for many individuals…