Texas Trial Lawyers Association

Texas Tribune Daily Brief

The Brief for Dec 8

Compilation of Texas news by the Texas Tribune.
John Reynolds, Texas Tribune 12/08/2014   

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Issues

DuPont's Safety Record has Slipped in Recent Years

For at least two decades, DuPont has billed itself as a "world class safety leader" and the original promoters of a so-called "zero injury culture." But there are signs of cracks in that lauded corporate culture - including 34 accidents involving toxic releases and at least eight fatalities at DuPont plants nationwide since 2007, public records reviewed by the Houston Chronicle show. From 2007 to 2012, DuPont had reported at least three incidents involving toxic releases and non-fatal injuries at the La Porte plant, built in the aftermath of World War II. That put the facility near the top of the list of total accidents reported by any major U.S. refinery or chemical plant that manages piles of potentially dangerous toxics, based on risk management reports such companies must provide to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Lise Olsen, Houston Chronicle 12/08/2014   

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Critics Say New Railroad Commission Rules on Common-Carrier Pipelines Don’t Adequately Protect Landowners

Oil and gas regulators will soon require pipeline operators to provide sworn testimony and supporting documents in permit applications to verify claims of common-carrier status, which can confer broad authority to build pipelines across private land. But the agency denied several requests from property-rights advocates and environmental groups, causing critics to say that the rules do not go far enough. Common-carrier pipeline operators sell other companies access to their lines for market-rate fees. They are thus said to serve the public good are granted the power of eminent domain. Landowners can challenge common carriers’ eminent domain claims in court.
Marissa Barnett, The Dallas Morning News 12/08/2014   

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Laws/Cases

US Supreme Court Rejects BP’s Settlement Challenge

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected British oil company BP’s challenge to a multibillion-dollar settlement related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill that the company said was being misinterpreted. BP had waged a major public relations battle and hired an all-star battalion of lawyers to make the case that the claims administrator is misreading the agreement and approving payments to businesses that do not prove their losses were directly caused by the nation’s worst offshore oil spill. But the Supreme Court without comment declined to review lower court rulings that have rejected BP’s claims. Those courts said the company must abide by an agreement that did not require the proof it now insists upon.
Robert Barnes, Houston Chronicle 12/08/2014   

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Google Seeks Dismissal of U.K. Lawsuit

Google is facing a lawsuit by three individuals from the U.K. who allege that the search engine company "breached their privacy by covertly tracking their Internet use to display targeted adverts." Google is attempting to fight the lawsuit and alleges that the three plaintiffs did not have the right to file the lawsuit in England. Google has asked a London appeals court to overturn a ruling which allowed the lawsuit to proceed. The lawsuit alleges that the company's "clandestine tracking and collation" of the users’ cookies was a violation of U.K. law, based upon a May ruling by the European Union’s top court giving people the "right to be forgotten."
Kit Chellel, Bloomberg 12/08/2014   

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