Houston Litigation Blog : Houston Insurance Defense Lawyer & Attorney : McCormick Hancock Newton Law Firm : Defense Counsel and Civil Trial Lawyers : Serving Harris County, South Texas, Gulf Coast

Over the last several months, most lawyers, clients and insurance adjusters I have talked to have indicated that in their opinion there are fewer cases being filed today in the Texas courts.  This is what would be expected since (1) we have had sweeping tort reform legislation in this State; (2) our Supreme Court is the most conservative it has been at any time in the last 20 years; and (3) juries in Harris County, Texas have become so defense oriented that it is often difficult to empanel a jury that will award medical expenses to the Plaintiff, much less in tangible damages. 

However, in spite of this, case filings have remained fairly constant.  Below is a table of personal injury case filings for Harris County, Texas since 2001.   This information was obtained from theTexas Office on Court Administration.  While there are some variations, new case filings since tort reform in both the motor vehicle category and non-motor vehicle category are as high, if not higher than they were in 2001 prior to the tort reform legislation of 2003.

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Houston mega firm, Fulbright and Jaworski has released its annual survey of litigation trends.  The survey identifies the insurance industry as the most common target for lawsuits, averaging over a 1,600 pending suits.  The survey dispels the notion that large companies are just targets for litigation.   Seventy percent of the companies surveyed                   

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Last week a federal judge in Galveston ordered the CEO of British Petroleum, Lord Browne to give his deposition in connection with the case arising out of the explosion at the BP refinery in Texas City.  The explosion resulted in 15 deaths and numerous injuries.  Lawsuits arising out of the accident are pending in both the State Courts of Galveston County, Texas and the Federal Court in located in Galveston.  

The attempt to take the deposition of a high ranking official of a publicly traded company is not an uncommon strategy. While I cannot comment on the reasons that Lord Browne's deposition is being sought, it can often be utilized for publicity purposes or simply to make life difficult for the defendant and its lawyers. The philosophy being that if the CEO is made to appear and answer questions, he will be more inclined

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