• 19
  • June
    2010
On Friday, June 18, 2010, Administrative Judge Al Bennett conducted a hearing concerning a possible consolidation of commercial Hurricane Ike cases into a special docket.  All residential Ike cases have been consolidated into a special docket before Judge Mike Miller, and a similar proposal is under consideration for commercial cases.

The hearing was well attended, with lead Plaintiffs' lawyers in attendance along with counsel for dozens of insurance companies.  The Plaintiffs group was united in the desire to put in place an organized, sensible pre-trial docket for commercial Ike cases. Both I and my co-liaison counsel advised Judge Bennett and Judge Kyle Carter, who heads the Special Docket Committee, about the benefits we have seen from consolidated dockets in Houston and Galveston.  

The insurance industry position was expressed by Chris Martin, who represents a number of the major insurance carriers.  The insurance industry opposed the creation of a special docket for commercial cases.

The opposition to a special docket for commercial Ike cases is unfortunate.   Consolidation of the residential cases in Houston, and of all cases in Galveston, has lead to an organized, well-run docket that has resolved hundreds if not thousands of Hurricane Ike cases.  Our clients have all benefited from the good work the courts and lawyers have done throughout the Texas Gulf Coast to promptly resolve these cases.  The opposition by the insurance industry is disappointing and an unfortunate example of the ongoing effort to create obstacles and roadblocks to impede Texas insureds from protecting the values  of their homes and businesses.  We are hopeful the Harris County Courts will grant the request to create a pre-trial consolidation of all commercial Hurricane Ike cases into a special docket, for the benefit of Texas policy holders