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
How long can Whiplash Injuries Last after a Car Accident?
Reckless driving can often prove to be fatal; it may sometimes take away your life or cause irreparable damage. Car accident attorneys know just how bad car accidents can lead to physical injuries to your head, neck, or back and could even result in months of pain and anguish. Whiplash injuries are perhaps the most…
Two-Vehicle Crash on Highway 87 Kills One Man, Injures Two
A two-vehicle crash on Highway 87 crash took place on Thursday, December 3. The incident resulted in the death of one person and injuries to another two. According to the details shared by the Texas Department of Public Safety, the two vehicles were identified as a 2013 Dodge pickup truck and a 2001 Nissan passenger…
How You Can Claim Personal Injury Insurance After A Car Accident
Accidents often bring with them, personal injuries. In such a case, a personal injury insurance claim in Texas can help greatly. Car Accidents happen every day which contributes to more than 1 million deaths worldwide. In situations where there are no fatalities, injuries are a very likely probability. Injuries, whether major or minor in nature,…