COURT CONSOLIDATES, AND THEN REJECTS THE STATE’S ATTEMPT TO DISMISS THE HIGHWAY FLOODING LAWSUITS

After suits were filed on behalf of people in Chambers, Liberty, and Jefferson counties whose properties had been flooded by storm water detained by the State’s work on IH-10, the federal court for the Southern District of Texas consolidated them together and then denied a motion by the State of Texas seeking to have all claims against it dismissed.

In one part of its ruling, the Court rejected the State’s attempt to trap the plaintiffs in “a classic Catch-22,” and declared the State’s argument to be “pretzel logic” that “eviscerates hundreds of years of Constitutional law in one fell swoop, and flies in the face of commonsense.” Yet despite the thorough analysis provided by the Court in its complete rejection of the State’s defenses, the State has appealed the ruling to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. And Burns Charest is ready to again defend these claims on behalf of all those who the State has harmed.

Now that we have cleared the first hurdle of the State’s motion to dismiss it is important for everyone to gather records regarding damage to their homes, property, and livestock as we get deeper into the discovery phase of our cases.

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