Mundy & Singley proudly announce a major court victory protecting the rights of all Texans with a favorable ruling on behalf of deceased mesothelioma client John Robinson and his family in the Texas Supreme Court. Mr. Robinson was a career Navy man, and died of cancer caused by breathing asbestos from products used in the boiler rooms of his Navy ships. After Mundy & Singley filed a case for Mr. Robinson, one of the companies in the case (Crown Cork & Seal) had a law passed in the Texas Legislature taking away his right to have his day in court against them. Mundy & Singley challenged the law as contrary to the Texas Constitution’s Bill of Rights, which forbids the Legislature from passing “retroactive” laws – a legal term for laws that eliminate rights that a person already has. After fighting for more than 6 years in the courts, including two appeals, Mundy & Singley successfully vindicated the rights of Mr. Robinson and all Texans. The Court set forth a new way to analyze the relevant part of the Texas Bill of Rights and stressed its importance in protecting all Texans from improper laws. We are thrilled to have this victory for all Texans be in the name of our client Mr. Robinson. The opinion of the Texas Supreme Court is available here:
http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/historical/2010/oct/060714.htm
The tragic BP offshore oil rig explosion and pipeline leak strongly highlight the need for stricter safety regulation and government oversight in this area, as with so many others, both to protect worker safety and the environment. Â The companies are now focused on their legal positions, pointing fingers of blame at one another, and by the public accounts of some rig workers they were pressured into signing legal documents before they could contact their families who wondered if they were dead or alive.
As concerned citizens, we must all be must be focused on safety and the changes that must happen to prevent another tragedy like this from happening. Â This news article gives a good description of the companies’ attempts to avoid blame for this tragedy, as well as the problems with ineffective government oversight in this area that essentially punted the decisions to the companies to police themselves:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126721481
On Tuesday, February 3, 2009, Mundy & Singley partner Michael Singley presented argument in the Texas Supreme Court on behalf of client Debra Kirwan in her suit against the City of Waco arising from the death of her son Bradley McGehee in 2004.  Ms. Kirwan has not yet had her day in court because the City filed a pre-trial motion for dismissal, arguing that Texas law shields the City from accountability for Mr. McGehee’s death even if the jury were to find gross negligence on the part of the City. On appeal of the trial court’s decision, the Waco Court of Appeals agreed with Mundy & Singley’s arguments and ordered that Ms. Kirwan is entitled to a jury trial. The City appealed that decision to the Texas Supreme Court. Now that the Supreme Court oral argument has been completed, the Court will issue a written decision at a future date.
The Waco Court of Appeals’ opinion in in favor of Mundy & Singley and their client Debra Kirwan is available here: http://www.10thcoa.courts.state.tx.us/opinions/htmlopinion.asp?OpinionId=8716
In honor of our clients, Victor Davis, John Robinson, and Garry Miller.
Mundy & Singley have begun this legal blog to provide importation information, news and developments to clients and other web sites users. Please check back frequently for new posts.
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