May 19, 2023: Allocation in process!
Best, Rob Kwok
From Rob Kwok:
In my 30+ years of law practice this explosion hits closest to home. Literally, 5 miles from home. We woke up to the sonic boom that set off our house alarm on January 24, 2020 at 4:23am. My phone started ringing around 7am and hasn't stopped ringing since. Many close friends from Church and school live near the Watson facility. Some of my kids' classmates had homes destroyed. In fact, our lead Plaintiffs have 4 kids in school with our 4 kids. We're honored to serve their family during this explosion that destroyed their home. We were grateful to help them win their lawsuit against their homeowners insurance company so they could find a replacement home.
A bit about me, I'm board certified in personal injury trial law, and have represented people my entire career. I am AV rated, peer review/judicial review rated - the highest possible rating. I'm a Texas Super Lawyer and serve on the nominating committee for Texas Monthly Magazine. Serving my clients well is my top priority. We continue to offer Personal, Efficient and Agressive legal services at this firm since 1996.
I filed and won the first wrongful death case in the tragic 2005 BP Amaco Explosion that killed 23 workers. We won incredible results for all of our clients. I presented my last BP case to a Galveston County jury - and the case settled for many times the "final offer" after jury selection.
I also won the record setting jury verdict in the Channelview Explosion in 2014, that killed 1 worker and injured others. The 5-week jury trial record verdict landed Kwok Daniel LLP in the Texas Lawyers Hall of Fame.
When not working Explosion cases, my firm is one of the highest volume personal injury trial law firms in Houston. I'm so grateful for our world-class team of 66+ talented professionals. Update: we've added more team members in the past year to staff up for the Watson litigation and have tripled our mass torts division. We are grateful for our explosive growth!
Looking back on 2022, we are blessed and grateful for another record-setting year of income from our litigation practice. Partner Thomas Daniel continues to manage the firm well so my team may "work without worry" on your January 24 explosion cases.
Please know that I take each one of your cases personally. I'm deeply honored to represent 1,000+ of your family members, friends and neighbors. In December, I successfully concluded my appointment as co-chair of the January 24 Claimants Committee, and now serve in leadership on the January 24 MDL in state court. I am focused on bringing your cases to resolution by settlement or trial - that is our mission in 2023.
Much good has already been done, as we charge forward on mission to rebuild your neighborhood, one home at a time.
Best, Rob Kwok - rkwok@kwoklaw.com
Dear Clients,
We were in Court this am to discuss our expenses and the process for repayment. The Court will evaluate each common benefit expense for reasonableness. Any repayment must be approved by the Court and also the appointed lawyer for the minors. His name is former Judge David Medina. If you have minors making claims, Mr. Medina will meet with you (the parents) and evaluate each minors' claim for fairness. He will then make a recommendation to the Judge.
Again, we thank you for your continued patience with the allocation process. Each day brings us one step closer to getting your award! All claims forms have been submitted, and the administrator has already processed 1,300 out of 2,000 injury claims and 400+ property claims. We expect to have the initial census, broken down by injury type and zone, by early June. From there, we will have the opportunity to review and appeal any findings we disagree with. This should take us into late June and probably July.
After that, your case will be assigned a value, which will be included with your disclosure packet, with your proposed award and the ability to accept or reject. We expect this process to take most of July and potentially August. We need to meet with each one of you - that could mean 1,000 meetings! If everyone agrees to their inidividual award, then funding should take place in August/September. If not, expect further delays. But please know we are working hard to get everyone fair values that should be accepted.
So that's where we are. Some of you have called saying it's taking a long time, and in some ways it does seem that way. Know that a typical mass tort in multi-district litigation typically takes 7 years on average to see any payment. We are into this case 3.5 years, and actually only 2.5 years as we lost a year in bankruptcy court since Watson filed for bankruptcy. If we get funding of any kind in August/September that would be a great result - super fast all things considered.
Best, Rob Kwok
ICYMI: On March 10, 2023, we returned to Court to argue why the sensor company should not get out scott free. Indeed, they were the last to service the gas sensors at Watson, but the sensors were found not to be working at the time of this explosion. Our law and motions team filed with the Court a 50 page response with 7 binders of exhibits. After an hour plus of arguments, the Court ruled in our favor, keeping the sensor company in the case. This means once the allocation is complete, we resume litigation against the sensor company. Our case against them will end in either a jury trial or a settlement.
As always, find real-time updates here at www.watsongrindingexplosion.com
Lawsuit filed - 3 TROs Granted
Rob Kwok has already filed and won 3 TRO's in this case.
See Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) - here
See Houston Chronicle Article - here
See ABC news - here
See Fox 26 news story - here
See KPRC Ch2 news story - here
See ABC Watson/Kwok news story - here
See AP news story - here
See KPRC Ch2 walk through news story - here
See KPRC Ch2 TRO vs. City of Houston news story - here
See 1st TRO vs. City - here
See 2nd TRO vs. City - here
See Houston Chronicle Article - here
See Agreed 5-8-20 Lift Stay Order - here
See 06.21.20 Houston Chronicle Article - here
See 07.03.20 Houston Chronicle Article - here
See 12.30.20 Houston Chronicle Article - here
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