4.24.24: Allocation still pending...check back in a week!
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. And as promised, we handled all first party lawsuits for free, so our clients could use all their insurance money to rebuild their homes.
From the beginning I promised to handle your first party lawsuits without charge so you could use your insurance money to rebuild your homes. We handled 85+ first party lawsuits and have sucessfully won every single one. We also did not take any fees on your honmeowners claims, leaving nearly $4mm in your neighborhoods from Westbranch to historic Carverdale, to rebuild damaged homes, as promised.
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 passion and top priority. We continue to offer Personal, Efficient and Agressive legal services at my 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! Update 2: We need more space! On February 10, we moved to larger offices at 2050 W. Sam Houston Pkwy S., Ste 1500, Houston 77042!
Looking back on 2023, we are blessed and grateful for yet 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. Congrats to all Kwok Daniel team members for setting new all time income records for 2023!
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 2024.
Much good has already been done, as we charge forward on mission to rebuild your neighborhood, one home at a time.
God bless, Rob Kwok
rkwok@kwoklaw.com
Dear Clients,
Under the Master Settlement Agreement, the gas companies are only obligated to pay your awards if there is 100% acceptance. There is one major case and a few groups of cases who rejected their allocation awards (none from our group). So now the gas companies have the option to pay some or none of the awards. We are waiting to hear from the gas companies on if they will pay and who gets paid, or if we continue litigation and bring each one of your cases to trial. Once we get some clues on the gas companies' response we will contact you immediately. Until then, thank you for your contined patience, we are working hard daily to get your individual awards accepted and paid.
Since there are multiple defendants, there are multiple issues and methods to get your settlement. Each defendant owes their percentage of your award. No one defendant owes your entire award. For example, the Watson money, which is gaining interest, is a percentage of your award. The disbursement of the Watson money must be approved by both the bankruptcy court and MDL (State) Court. Court approval hearings take time. And the Courts must decide how to handle those who reject their awards. Do they hold back the exact amount of those awards or more or less? The amount of holdback for opt outs could directly affect/change the calculation of everyone else's award.
Another Defendant Teledyne, has refused to make any settlement offers. Instead, they have filed motions to get out and get our experts struck. They have lost both motions. The MDL Court has set all cases (including yours) against Teledyne Detcon 3M for trial on a tight track schedule which has already begun. On April 19, 2024 our team spent the day taking the deposition of Teledyne's corporate representative in preparation for trial against them. According to the Rep, their technician telling the Watson manager "open loop fault not connected" was enough to warn Watson that their spray room would explode if propylene met an ignition source. The sensors were not connected and possibly never connected during the three years of service from the sensor company. Our team has been preparing for this trial for many months now, and we hope to make a strong case against Teledyne Detcon 3M, the sensor company who last inspected the gas detection system at Watson before the January 24, 2020 explosion.
If we reach a deal with the gas companies, the minors' parents will need to meet with the Judge along with Judge Medina (who you have already met), to conduct a hearing on the record to ensure your minor's settlement is fair. This may take a few weeks and weekends, so please be patient with the process. Everyone wants the minors' funds invested as quickly as possible to start gaining valuable interest.
For children receiving over $10,000, you may consider placing your child's funds in an annuity, where you could plan the amount paid and timing of payments. Often this is a better investment choice so your child does not get a lump sum payment at age 18, but instead gets payments over time. If you would like a free (no obligation) annuity quote, contact Rosendo Zepeda at 713.822.0388. Please tell him you are a Kwok Daniel client.
We are truly honored to represent such a wonderful group of clients. Now we can say everyone (99.9%) has been so patient, understanding and kind. Our signoffs are complete. So many happy clients have expressed thankfulness to us and Judge Medina, and we are grateful for you. And again, we're not done yet, your case against Teledyne goes on!
We appreciate your patience with the process. I know many of you remain homeless and are paying out of pocket for alternate housing - for the past 4 years. Your initial awards are earning some interest on the Watson funds, and we are working hard every day to get you much needed financial relief. Stay strong, we are almost there!
All claimants who opt out have been set for trial through a case management order. At trial those claimants could get less money or no money at all. Again, we are bound by the allocation award for the bankrupt Watson entities, so your settlement award from them cannot and will never increase. And without sufficient evidence, Judge Davidson could dismiss cases and those claimants could get nothing. If you have questions about your settlement award please contact Ranny Sawaf at rsawaf@kwoklaw.com.
Again, thank you for your cooperation with the allocation process. We are committed to fulfilling our mission of "rebuilding your neighborhood, one home at a time."
Best, Rob Kwok
ICYMI: On March 1, 2024, we returned to Court for another Friday hearing/status conference. Teledyne (the only remaining non-settling defendant) asked the Judge to strike our sensor expert, again. The Judge previously denied Teledyne's motion to strike this expert, and the Judge denied their motion to strike again, setting the stage for your jury trials with our sensor experts. As our cases against that gas companies settle and fund, all guns will be pointed at Teledyne in full blown litigation with a tight trial schedule! We are committed to concluding your cases with Teledyne through trial or settlement - the early tracks include our clients so we will be in trial early and often.
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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