Author: Ben Agosto III

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Southwest Houston Residents Wary of Centerpoint Facility Given Safety Concerns

Explosion ,  Oil and Gas Accidents ,  Personal Injury

In December 2022, a community protest formed in the Southwest Houston neighborhood of Southwest Crossing; in response to Centerpoint Energy’s new propane facility that was recently constructed on the neighborhood’s fringe. Centerpoint, the Houston-based energy giant, reportedly began building propane-air peak-shaving facilities throughout Houston since 2019. Centerpoint is a beneficiary of an approximately $16 billion…

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U.S. Department of Transportation Seeks to Expand Consumer Protections from Air Carriers Doing Business in the U.S.

Attorney Perspectives

In August 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) proposed an expansion of consumer protections from domestic and foreign air carriers, which would codify a well-settled interpretation of the law that is an unfair business practice for 1) an air carrier, or a ticket agent to refuse to provide requested refunds to consumers when a…

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The Basics of the Longshore Act & Available Remedies for Injured Maritime Workers

Maritime Accidents ,  Personal Injury

The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (“LHWCA” or the “Longshore Act”) is a federal workers’ compensation scheme designed to provide coverage to maritime employees who are injured or killed in an incident “occurring upon the navigable waters of the United States (including any adjoining pier, wharf, dry dock, terminal, building way, marine railway, or…

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Can You Sue Your Natural Gas Provider in Texas After a Home Explosion or Fire Caused by a Natural Gas Leak?

Attorney Perspectives ,  Explosion ,  Oil and Gas Accidents ,  Personal Injury

In Texas, there are generally few circumstances in which an aggrieved homeowner may sue their natural gas provider for ordinary negligence for a home explosion or fire caused by a natural gas leak. For each natural gas provider in the State, the circumstances are limited and specifically identified in each provider’s tariff, a document the…

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Roadway Deaths on the Rise in Texas

Car & Truck Accidents ,  Negligence ,  Personal Injury ,  Product Liability ,  Wrongful Death

In 2022, the number of fatal deaths has been on the rise in many states across the U.S., including Texas. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”), there were 9,650 roadway deaths between January 2022 and March 2022, 625 more than those killed in 2021. This was the highest January to March fatality…

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Dallas County Jury Awards $7 Billion to Family of Grandmother Who was Murdered by Spectrum Cable Company Employee

Negligence ,  Wrongful Death

On Tuesday, July 26, 2022, a Dallas County jury handed down a verdict for punitive damages totaling a $7.37 billion award for a family of an eighty-three-year-old grandmother Betty Thomas who was viciously killed in her home by a Spectrum Cable employee in 2019. The perpetrator, Roy James Holden, was an installer for Spectrum, a…

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Five Marines Killed After Another MV-22 Osprey Crashes in Southern California

Aviation Accident ,  Product Liability ,  Wrongful Death

On June 8, 2022, a United States Marine Corps MV-22B “Osprey” crashed near Glamis, California, just a few miles north of the Mexican border. Five marines, including the pilot, died in the crash. The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is a tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing, and short takeoff and landing capabilities….

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Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Chapter 95 – The Entire Workplace Cannot Be An “Improvement”

Legal News

In Texas, a landowning defendant sued under a premises liability theory of negligence is afforded a particularly stalwart affirmative defense pursuant to Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 95. Referred to commonly as simply “Chapter 95,” it “applies to a claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim (1) for damages caused by negligence resulting in…

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