The Week in FCPA-Episode 67, the Post Harvey Edition
I-14: Update on EEO-1 and I-9 Forms, Employer Obligations After a Hurricane or Other Natural Disaster, and Attorney Jason Barsanti on Meal and Rest Breaks
On October 6, the Fourteenth Court of Appeals of Houston, Texas issued an opinion in San Jacinto River Authority v. Gonzalez, et al., a case involving claims by 85 residents against the San Jacinto River Authority...more
Just over five years ago, on August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with wind gusts in excess of 130 mph. The storm produced more than four days of torrential rain: in the aggregate, in...more
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, in the matter of Evanston Ins. Co. v. AmSpec Holding Corp., granted summary judgment in favor of Evanston Insurance Company (“Evanston”) after determining...more
This action involves plaintiff Living Steward Properties’ insurance claim for property damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. The insurer defendants moved to compel arbitration of the plaintiff’s claims that the insurer...more
Policyholders attorneys often try to skip the threshold steps of bringing their client’s claim within coverage and allocating between covered and non-covered causes of loss. Instead, the policyholder attorney would have the...more
On April 13, 2020, Texas Attorney General Paxton issued an opinion letter on a request of Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, regarding a recently enacted statute providing a temporary tax exemption for qualified property...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued a report on December 16th titled: EPA Needs to Improve Its Emergency Planning to Better Address Air Quality Concerns...more
In light of the potential for future national disasters such as Hurricane Harvey and all the damage that they can cause, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has provided advice on measures to take to secure your...more
Almost two years after Hurricane Harvey devastated parts of Texas and Louisiana, Central America, and several Caribbean islands, the coverage issues arising out of it are far from resolved. The court decisions addressing...more
...In August 2017 Hurricane Harvey, the year’s deadliest storm, hit Texas as a Category 4 hurricane. Harvey tied in rank with Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cyclone on record with $125 billion in damage, largely...more
Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP is closely monitoring Hurricane Florence and hopes that everyone in the state is taking the proper precautions to plan and protect themselves from this storm....more
In the year since Hurricane Harvey, the Texas and Federal court systems have been flooded, saturated, engulfed (pick the Harvey related adjective of your choosing) with filings related to the damages caused by the rain-heavy...more
On April 10, the Texas General Land Office (“GLO”) released a draft of the State of Texas Plan for Disaster Recovery: Hurricane Harvey – Round 1 (the “State Action Plan”). The State Action Plan outlines the GLO’s proposed use...more
Just as the Texas coast assessed the magnitude of Hurricane Harvey’s damage, Hurricane Irma was taking shape in the Atlantic. Fewer than two weeks later, Irma would crash into the Florida Keys. Estimates put Harvey and Irma’s...more
Homeowners facing issues in the wake of Harvey and other Texas storms need to be aware of the recent Texas Supreme Court opinion in Knox v. Eagle Water Management, Inc., that rejected testimony by homeowners as to the cause...more
I often joke with my clients that following issues too closely at the federal level can result in whiplash. To that regard, it has been a very active summer in Washington, DC on the water infrastructure front. Here’s a rapid...more
On December 21, Congress passed a bill to continue funding the government through January 19, 2018, averting a potential government shutdown ahead of the December 22, 2017, deadline for the previous funding measure. The House...more
At its recent December 11th meeting in Corpus Christi, Texas, the Governing Committee of the Texas FAIR Plan Association (TFPA) is reported to have approved an assessment for its insurance company members of over $64 million...more
The 2017 United States Atlantic hurricane season, which officially ended on November 30, was the most expensive ever according to one report. Disaster modelers Chuck Watson and Mark Johnson concluded that total damages for...more
As businesses and insurers recover from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, it may take time to fully assess the effects of these storms on a business’s bottom line. Invariably, however, the scale of these...more
What is the status of funding for rebuilding after the recent disasters in Florida, Georgia, Texas, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and what can we expect moving forward? After each of the big disasters that have...more
Hurricane Harvey reminded hospitals that obligations to employees do not cease during or after horrific natural disasters. Hospitals should have a plan in place when preparing for a natural disaster, such as an inclement...more
The Senate’s vote Tuesday to forgive $16 billion in debt owed by the National Flood Insurance Program gives a much-needed boost for NFIP as it faces large payouts from recent hurricanes. Packaged with other disaster aid...more
Recent damage from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria have focused attention on special “named storm” and “hurricane” deductible endorsements found in most property insurance policies issued for coastal areas. Such...more
Bill Deron bought a 100-acre tract next to a creek outside the City of Houston. Deron planned to build a subdivision where some of the homes abut a creek. The other homes would sit about 15 feet higher than the creekside...more