Texas judges preparing to avoid Ike lawsuit logjam
December 2nd, 2008 joshua
Judges in Galveston County, Texas, are said to be preparing for a massive intake of lawsuits related to damages suffered during Hurricane Ike.
The judicial system is hoping the avoid the backup created in 2005 when a crush of lawsuits crippled legal systems in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Hurricane Ike catastrophically destroyed parts of the southeast Texas on Sept. 13, doing its most damage in the City of Galveston.
According to a local district court judge quoted in the Galveston County Daily News, not a lot of homeowners have filed lawsuits against their insurance companies … yet.
Following catastrophic events like hurricanes and tornadoes, insurance companies can seem sympathetic when rushing an adjuster to the scene to quickly cut a check for a homeowner’s damages.
Unfortunately, the insurance companies are typically getting the better end of the deal as they prey on the grief-stricken homeowner, more likely to take any claims check written that day.
However, homeowners often find themselves short when they’ve had time to assess.
Also, insurance companies have been accused and have lawsuits brought against them for failing to pay claims at all.
By preparing the court calendar ahead of time, Galveston officials are hoping to provide expedited proceedings for homeowners.
And though not many cases have been filed, the judge quoted in the story said he expects that to increase after Jan. 1.
It is possible all residential insurance lawsuits will be channeled through a single judge to ensure consistent rulings.
At least 1,000 residential insurance fraud lawsuits were followed following the 2005 hurricanes, Katrina and Rita.
