GALVESTON – The trial into a lawsuit claiming a local man and his son were doused with gas from an unattached hose will be heard on a new date.

According to court records, the parties in Georgios Maltsakis’s suit had their agreed first motion for continuance granted by Galveston County Court-at-Law No. 3 Judge Kerri M. Foley on Oct. 14. 

As previously reported, the elder Maltsakis sued Murphy Oil USA Inc. and motorist Jerry Delossantos last Feb. 21 for the June 16, 2011, incident, in which Delossantos allegedly drove away from a pump without removing the pump hose from his vehicle, resulting in gasoline “being sprayed all over Georgios and [his son's] face and body.”

The original petition shows the plaintiffs “immediately experienced burning sensations on their skin and eyes” and were taken to the nearby University of Texas Medical Branch where they underwent a series of X-rays and other tests.

Maltsakis adds he was forced to miss a week of work.

He and the defendants requested Judge Foley to switch the trial setting from Dec. 9 because Murphy’s lead counsel, attorney John D. Wittenmeyer of LeBoeuf & Wittenmeyer P.C. in Houston, and his wife are scheduled to travel to Austria with her elderly parents at the time.

The five-page motion, filed earlier this month, also says Maltsakis’s attorney, Chris C. King of McLeod, Alexander, Powel & Apffel P.C. in Galveston, wanted the continuance because he has four cases slated for trial during the same period.

Judge Foley rescheduled the trial for Jan. 13, 2014.

Cause No. 69,343

GALVESTON – A local man who sued over a physical assault recently stated he would welcome mediation as long as his alleged attacker agrees to it “in good faith,” recent court records show.

Christopher Malbrough entered an eight-page document detailing his position regarding alternate dispute resolution into his suit against Derek McGahee on Oct. 7, stating the defendant apparently does not want to settle.

As previously reported, Malbrough sued McGahee in early July on claims the latter “perpetrated a violent and aggressive bodily assault” against him without provocation.

The original petition asserts the aforementioned assault knocked the plaintiff unconscious as well as caused severe, painful injuries and facial disfigurement.

McGahee countered the suit with an original answer insisting he was defending himself.

Malbrough insists he has attempted in good faith to propose settlement negotiations to which the defendant’s attorney, Keith Gross of League City, opposed because “a settlement will affect (his client’s) criminal case” and said client “would not offer a settlement.”

“Accordingly, since it appears that the defendant does not wish to make a good-faith effort to resolve this matter at mediation, the plaintiff does not feel that it is in his best interest to expend additional costs associated with mediating this matter, and would therefore object to any form of ADR,” the complainant’s document says.

“If, however, the defendant agrees to attend mediation in good faith, the plaintiff is open to mediating this matter before an agreed mediator.”

A jury trial into the suit is slated for 9 a.m., April 7, 2014.

Case No. 13-CV-863

GALVESTON – Local resident Celina Schneider initiated legal action against McCall Farms Inc. after her granddaughter allegedly became ill from eating one of its products, according to recent court documents.

A lawsuit filed Oct. 29 in Galveston County District Court asserts the little girl ate tainted spinach sold by the defendant, doing business as Glory Foods, on Oct. 3, 2011.

Schneider bought a can of Glory Food Country Spinach at an area grocery store.

At around dinnertime of the specified date, she opened the can, warmed the contents and placed it in a bowl for the child.

The suit shows that the girl “ate some of the spinach and immediately began to cough, choke and vomit blood.”

“(She) continued to complain and point indicating that something was caught in her throat,” the original petition says.

“The child was having difficulty breathing.”

Schneider called 911 fearing her granddaughter was “unable to get any oxygen.”

Consequently, she seeks unspecified monetary damages.

Attorney Sherry Scott Chandler of The Chandler Law Firm LLP in Houston, and Galveston County 10th District Court Judge Kerry L. Neves is presiding over the litigation.

Case No. 13-CV-1372

HOUSTON – A Montgomery man who is among the defendants in a lawsuit arising from a woman’s death at a Conroe car wash has replied to the allegations, recent court records show.

In an original answer filed Oct. 22, Donald Husk denies responsibility for the Jan. 19 incident at Suds Grand Prix Car Wash which claimed the life of Juana Bethuel Gonzalez y Macias.

The decedent’s sons and daughter-in-law sued Husk and DRB Systems Inc. in Montgomery County District Court, but the suit was removed to the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas in August.

According to the plaintiffs, Husk owned the black 2007 black F Series Ford pickup truck they assert fatally struck their mother while DRB manufactured, assembled and installed the business’s car washing system that held the truck.

They add an attendant allowed the vehicle’s engine to run as well as negligently placed the vehicle in drive, causing it to move through the system without a driver occupant toward them.

Hachenburg

Gonzalez’s children were “barely able to extricate themselves,” who witnessed the truck strike and kill her, the suit says.

Husk’s eight-page rebuttal admits the vehicle belonged to him, but counters “he did not know the engine would be running.”

It attributes the subject event to “the negligence of a third party or third parties over whom the defendant had no control.”

Attorney Barbara L. Hachenburg of Germer Gertz L.L.P. in Houston is representing Husk.

Case No. 4:13-CV-2298

GALVESTON – A Louisiana man brought a lawsuit against several companies after a series of explosions on an oil production platform last year.

Alleging said explosions injured him on Nov. 16, 2012, Renato Dominguez sued Black Elk, Wood Group, Compass Engineering & Consultants, Shamrock and Enviro-Tech in Galveston County Court at Law No. 2 last month.

Itkin

The litigation was transferred to the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas on Nov. 4.

Court papers show the incident in question took place on the defendants’ Black Elk West Delta 32E oil production platform.

According to the suit, Dominguez sustained “severe burns and injuries to other parts of his body.”

He faults the respondents for:

• Failing to properly supervise their crew;
• Failing to properly train their employees;
• Failing to provide adequate safety equipment;
• Failing to provide adequate medical treatment;
• Failing to provide a safe work environment;
• Failing to inspect the platform and/or equipment;
• Operating with an inadequate crew; and
• Failing to maintain the platform and/or equipment.

Consequently, the claimant seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.

Attorney Jason A. Itkin of Arnold & Itkin LLP in Houston is representing Dominguez.

Case No. 3:13-CV-400

GALVESTON – An Alabama man has filed a lawsuit against his employer following two alleged instances in which he hurt his back.

Montevallo, Ala., resident Michael J. Bass is suing Rowan Companies, Inc., claiming the defendant ordered him to perform tasks without assistance.

Shaffer

Court documents were filed Nov. 5 in the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas.

Bass was assigned to the respondent’s Rowan Mississippi on which he says he spent more than 75 percent of his time as part of the crew.

The first incident in which his back sustained injuries was on or about Dec. 10, 11, or 12, 2010, when the ship was located at Main Pass in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the suit.

It shows the plaintiff was hurt when he was ordered to uncoil a braided cable crane bowline that was rolled up.

Some four months later, the respondent placed Bass on another of its ships, the Joe Douglas.

As was with the Rowan Mississippi, the claimant spent more than 75% of his time as part of its crew.

The plaintiff asserts he was told to pick up and carry a heavy shackle for approximately 20 feet, adding the job caused him to “aggravate his lower back injury of December 2010.”

He blames the defendant for:

• Failing to provide adequate mechanical assistance to perform the task in question; and
• Failing to provide adequate and experienced manpower to perform the task in question.

A jury trial is requested.

Attorney Matthew D. Shaffer of Schechter, McElwee, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P. in Houston is representing Bass.

Case No. 3:13-CV-409

GALVESTON – 24 Hours Fitness USA Inc. and one of its personal trainers blamed for a woman’s fall off a balancing ball at its Friendswood location in an August lawsuit recently answered the allegations, according to court records.

The defendants submitted a three-page original answer into Deborah Christensen’s personal injury suit on Oct. 28, directly denying responsibility for her reported injuries.

Christensen asserts during a session on Aug. 24, 2011, Indalecio “Andy” Rivera instructed her to stand on the aforementioned balance ball.

According to the suit, she was instructed to step off the balance ball and “she lost her balance and fell backward onto the floor.”

The original petition further shows that the complainant had no previous experience using the balance ball, but Rivera purportedly failed to spot her.

It adds she “immediately felt excruciating pain” in her low back and pelvis area, and a physician who was at the gym determined she was in need of an ambulance.

In response, the respondents insist the subject incident was “the result of the conduct of a third person or persons over whom the defendants possessed no control and for whose conduct the defendants are not responsible or liable.”

They state Christensen “has voluntarily waived the right to sue for the damages she now claims… and/or has released the defendants from any liability for the same.”

Attorney Maulik P. Shah of Brown Sims in Houston is representing the defendants.

Case No. 13-CV-1091

GALVESTON – Best Buy Co., Inc. replied to a former Marine’s lawsuit stemming from a car fire in the parking lot of its League City store which allegedly affected his mental health.

In an original petition filed Nov. 4, the consumer electronics company asserts Manuel Lee Cervantez III’s claims “are not true.”

Woodall

Best Buy correctly identified itself as Best Buy Stores LP.

As previously reported, Cervantez initiated legal against Best Buy after some electronic equipment he purchased from the defendant and had installed in his Ford Focus triggered the aforementioned fire.

The plaintiff, a disabled veteran suffering from post traumatic distress syndrome, explains he “exited the vehicle immediately before it blew up causing him severe mental distress,” stating he was caused “to relive incidents that occurred in Afghanistan.”

Cervantez adds the inferno prompted him to seek therapy.

Though he is receiving treatment, the original petition states, the complainant “is still afraid to travel in the vicinity of the scene.”

Meanwhile, Best Buy counters that the plaintiff caused the event over which he sues.

It argues he misused the electronics and “no warranties, either express or implied, accompanied the sale of goods” detailed in his suit.

Attorney J. Daniel Woodall of Gaunt, Earl & Binney LLP in The Woodlands is representing the respondent.

Cause No. 70,859

GALVESTON – A local man seeks more than $1 million in damages after he reportedly fell off a rotary mower last year, recent court papers say.

Brian Rinehart blames Cecil Norman, also of Galveston, for the subject incident in a lawsuit filed Nov. 5 in Galveston County District Court.

Bertini

Rinehart was helping Norman cut grass at an unspecified location at the time of the event.

Sometime during or after the task, Rinehart rode on the back of a brush hog being pulled by Norman’s vehicle.

The suit shows the plaintiff was disembarking from the mower when “the defendant pulled forward and caused the plaintiff to fall off.”

“As a result of the defendant’s actions, the plaintiff was injured,” the original petition says.

Norman is additionally faulted for failing to keep a proper lookout.

Consequently, Rinehart sues for physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, impairment, disfigurement, lost earnings and medical expenses.

A jury trial is requested.

Attorney Christopher D. Bertini of the Bertini Law Firm, P.C. in Galveston is representing the claimant, and Galveston County 212th District Court Judge Susan Criss is presiding over the litigation.

Case No. 13-CV-1412

GALVESTON – A local woman’s visit to a League City restaurant two years ago allegedly ended in a slip-and-fall lawsuit, recent court documents say.

Claiming the staff at Sudie’s Catfish-Seafood House did not tell her the surface on which she slipped was wet, Barbara London filed a lawsuit against the eatery and its parent companies in Galveston County District Court on Nov. 7.

“During the plaintiff’s visit on the defendants’ premises, the plaintiff was caused to suffer injury which was the direct result of an unreasonably dangerous condition on the defendants’ premises,” the suit says.

London says she was “walking past the cash register” when the Nov. 8, 2011, incident in question occurred.

According to the suit, a manager immediately approached her with a wet floor sign in his hand and stated “he was sorry because the floor had just been waxed.”

“No signs warning of the dangerous condition were present prior to the incident,” the original petition says.

The suit does not elaborate on the extent of London’s reported injuries, but insists she did nothing to cause the event for which she sues.

Consequently, the plaintiff sues for physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, impairment and medical expenses.

A jury trial is requested.

Attorney Ryan B. Gross of The Manginello Law Firm PLLC in Houston is representing London, and Galveston County 56th District Court Judge Lonnie Cox is presiding over the litigation.

Case No. 13-CV-1421

GALVESTON – A Waller County woman claims a slick substance caused her to slip and fall at a Galveston Kroger back in June, recent court documents say.

Theresa Yanchak filed a lawsuit against Kroger Texas L.P. in Galveston County District Court on Nov. 8. 

Yanchak says the alleged incident occurred last June 8 when she stepped on a part of the floor “wet and slick” from spilled lotion.

According to the suit, the surface created an “unreasonably dangerous” situation which the defendant failed to warn about.

“No warning signs were placed in the area to alert Yanchak, or other customers, of the dangerous condition of the floor,” the original petition says.

Kroger is faulted for:

• Failing to maintain its property in a reasonably safe condition; and
• Failing to correct the dangerous condition created by the slippery floor.

Consequently, the plaintiff seeks more than $1 million in damages.

She is represented by attorney Nhan Nguyen of The Law Office of Nhan Nguyen in Houston.

The case has been assigned to Galveston County 212th District Court Judge Susan Criss.

Case No. 13-CV-1424

GALVESTON – Claiming he was injured while unloading cubicles in Galveston last year, Harris County resident Jorge Cavazos Lopez has filed a lawsuit.

Hardee

In court documents filed Nov. 8 in Galveston County District Court, Lopez blames the alleged incident on his employer, JG Installations, and its proprietor Jose Gomez.

Facility Interiors Inc. is also a defendant in the case.

Lopez and an employee of Facility, identified as Luciano, were performing the task on May 15, 2012.

Luciano was up in the vehicle while the plaintiff was on the ground.

The original petition shows that Luciano was in the process of lowering an overloaded rolling cart down a lift gate when the piece of equipment “toppled over on top” of the claimant and “severely” injured him.

It blames JG Installations and Facility for:

• Failing to properly train its employee on loading and unloading procedures; and
• Failing to provide its employee proper instrumentalities in order to properly load and unload.

Consequently, Lopez seeks unspecified monetary damages.

He is represented by attorney Nathan A. Hardee of The Hardee Law Firm in League City.

The case has been assigned to Galveston County 122nd District Court Judge John Ellisor.

Case No. 13-CV-1422

GALVESTON – A Friendswood man suspected of having sex with underage girls faces a lawsuit from the parents of one of the alleged victims, recent court documents say.

The plaintiffs sued 62-year-old Michael Wayne McIntosh in Galveston County District Court on Nov. 13.

Todd

According to the suit, McIntosh “physically assaulted, seduced and sexually assaulted” the claimants’ minor daughter during the summer and as recently as last month.

“The defendant McIntosh intentionally caused physical contact with the plaintiffs’ daughter who is a minor while he knew or should reasonably have known that (the girl) was a minor and would find that contact offensive and that as a minor she could not consent to such contact,” the original petition explains.

Authorities recently arrested McIntosh, a business owner, for his alleged role in a high school prostitution ring.

Police say the defendant allegedly convinced a local 17-year-old girl to have sex with him for money last June.

The purported encounter led to the girl, a Clear Springs High School student, coaxing her friends into sleeping with McIntosh, according to authorities.

McIntosh, who reportedly earned the moniker “Money Mike,” was alleged to have paid nearly $4,000 to have sex with the teenage girls.

The plaintiffs seek unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.

They are represented by attorney Alton C. Todd of The Law Firm of Alton C. Todd in Friendswood.

The case has been assigned to Galveston County 122nd District Court Judge John Ellisor.

Case No. 13-CV-1426

GALVESTON – BNSF Railway Co. is the target of a federal lawsuit from a former employee who alleges she was released for issuing a workplace complaint.

Harris County resident Serena Howell sued BNSF in the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas on Nov. 15 claiming she was assaulted before her supposed termination.

BNSF employed Howell as a train conductor at the time of the events for which she brings the suit.

The suit explains that on June 7, 2012, the plaintiff was ordered to meet the defendant’s yardmaster after a shift though it was against its hours of service limit.

According to court papers, after she was confronted by the yardmaster, Howell was purportedly accosted and assaulted by Tashia Miller, an employee of BNSF’s human resources department.

Miller, who is not a party in the case, “violently struck the plaintiff on her right hand,” the original petition says.

Howell was diagnosed by hospital physicians with a “contusion of her right hand.”

She claims she reported the attack to the Houston Police Department as well as filed a written report with the respondent, which conducted an investigation through its own police department.

The suit further shows that said investigation “quickly deteriorated into a retaliatory action against the plaintiff,” adding BNSF accused her of “reporting dishonest information.”

The company fired Howell for purportedly supplying false information to which she counters was done to her out of retaliation.

A jury trial is requested.

Attorney Gregory G. Paul of Morgan & Paul PLLC in Sewickly, Pa., is representing the complainant.

Case No. 3:13-CV-421

HOUSTON – Conroe resident Antonia R. Bonilla is suing Wal-Mart Stores Inc. after she slipped and fell on a puddle of water at its store in The Woodlands, recent court papers say.

Bonilla initiated legal action in Montgomery County District Court, but the case was removed to the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas on Nov. 15.

The lawsuit shows the plaintiff was shopping at the business in question on Oct. 9, 2011, when the incident occurred, saying it happened in the bedding section.

According to the suit, Bonilla sustained injuries when she stepped on the aforementioned puddle that was “located in the middle of the aisle.”

After the fall, the suit says, she noticed “water was leaking from the ceiling area onto the floor where she fell.”

It further explains that a fellow shopper who helped the complainant also saw the source of the leak, adding images of the spot reveal the words “roof leak.”

Bonilla’s husband subsequently took the plaintiff to St. Luke’s Hospital for medical treatment.

Wal-Mart is accused of:

• Failing to properly maintain the ceiling area;
• Failing to properly inspect and maintain the flooring area in question to discover the dangerous condition;
• Failing to maintain the floor in a reasonably safe condition; and
• Failing to give adequate and understandable warnings to the plaintiff.

A jury trial is requested.

Attorney David L. Holmes of Simmons & Holmes Law Firm PC in Houston is representing Bonilla.

Case No. 4:13-CV-3377

HOUSTON – A Brazos County man’s trip to his nearby Wal-Mart back in January had barely begun when he sustained injuries, according to recent court papers.

College Station resident Auston Sikes brought a lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Texas L.L.C. in Brazos County District Court on Sept. 26.

Houston federal court recieved the litigation on Nov. 15.

According to the suit, Sikes was entering the defendant’s store the morning of Jan. 28 “when there and then he encountered a wet, slippery surface.”

Said surface caused Sikes to “slip and awkwardly twist his body, causing him injuries,” the suit says.

The plaintiff asserts that “no non-slip mats or other anti-slip materials or devices were present, and the cones were not located to where they would be noticeably visible to (him) prior to the time his feet made contact with the slippery surface.”

He faults the respondent for:

• Failing to warn;
• Failing to properly inspect the premises in question;
• Failing to train employees; and
• Failing to correct the unreasonably dangerous condition.

A jury trial is requested.

Attorney Rusty Harrison of Waltman & Grisham in Bryan is representing Sikes.

Case No. 4:13-CV-3383

GALVESTON – BP Products North America Inc. is named in a lawsuit stemming from an alleged release of toxic chemicals in late 2011 at its Texas City refinery.

In court documents filed Nov. 15 in Galveston County Court at Law No. 3, local resident Shauna White claims the incident exposed her to “extremely” high levels of benzene and other toxic chemicals.

The suit explains that on Nov. 15, 2011, the hydrogen compressor in the refinery’s ultracracker unit went offline, claiming BP “opted to send the gasses to a flare” when it was not working.

“BP did this knowing that without the hydrogen compressor working the result would be incomplete and allow chemicals to escape into the atmosphere,” the original petition says.

It adds the defendant “followed this procedure until the compressor was repaired or restarted.”

“During this time period, BP continued to operate the refinery’s ultracracker,” the suit says.

White labels the release an “intentional act.”

Consequently, she seeks unspecified monetary damages.

Marathon Oil purchased the refinery from BP last February.

BP recently won what was known as a “test trial” over a similar event that occurred in April and May 2010.

A local jury determined that BP’s negligence caused the emissions event that lasted 40 days, but they did not find that negligence caused the suffering of three plaintiffs.

The trial’s outcome will establish how the other plaintiffs’ cases will proceed in Galveston County 56th District Court, where Judge Lonnie Cox is presiding over the litigation.

Attorney David A. Slaughter of Houston is representing White, and Galveston County Court-at-Law No. 3 Judge Kerri M. Foley is presiding over the case.

Cause No. 71,074

HOUSTON – Claiming a frozen dinner she ate more than six months ago contained a large rock that broke her tooth, Houston resident Tara Brivic is suing the meal’s maker.

A lawsuit filed Nov. 18 in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas blames Nestle USA Inc. for not spotting said rock before placing the dinner on the market.

Brivic bought a Lean Cuisine Mushroom Mezzuluna Ravioli dinner from an unnamed grocery store last April 21 and ate it the next day.

According to the suit, the plaintiff “bit into a large rock” while eating the ravioli.
Suffering the aforementioned broken tooth, she required oral surgery.

The suit shows the procedure required the surgeon “to cut open her gum and jawbone in order to remove the remaining root of the tooth and to graft new bone.”

It adds Brivic is still not fully recovered from the injury and will require another operation to finish the reconstruction of her purportedly injured mouth.

She estimates post-operative care will last “at least one year” from the reported date of her injury.

The meal was reportedly the subject of a recall earlier this year after consumers complained about finding small fragments of glass in the ravioli portion of the entree.

A jury trial is requested.

Attorney Tad Rice of The Rice Law Firm in Houston is representing the complainant.

Case No. 4:13-CV-3410

GALVESTON – A local woman claims she was hurt trying to leave a Wal-Mart in Galveston last July and is pursuing legal action.

Court papers filed against Wal-Mart Stores Texas LLC in Galveston County District Court on Nov. 18 show Peggy Flores sustained injuries at the business’s exit.

According to the suit, Flores “ran into a rack that was protruding in the doorway.”

She asserts the subject event injured her nose, eyes, neck and general body.

The original petition alleges Wal-Mart “knew or reasonably should have known of the dangerous conditions existing before the plaintiff was injured,” but failed to warn or notify her.

“The plaintiff’s injury was the result of the defendant’s ongoing negligent activity on the premises at the time of the injury, not a condition of the premises,” it says.

“An example of the defendant’s negligent activity would be their failure to properly mark and store racks.”

Consequently, Flores seeks unspecified monetary damages.

Attorney Wes Klinger of Wes Klinger Law Office PLLC in Beach City is representing the complainant, and Galveston County 56th District Court Judge Lonnie Cox is presiding over the litigation.

Case No. 13-CV-1456

GALVESTON – A deep sea fishing expedition two years ago for a Montgomery County man resulted in injuries and a lawsuit.

Denis Hardy Johnson is suing Williams Party Boats Inc. on allegations it pushed through with the activity on Nov. 19, 2011, despite inclement weather.

F/V Captain John

Court documents were filed Nov. 19 in Galveston County District Court.

Johnson was a passenger aboard the F/V Captain John, a vessel belonging to the defendant, at the time of the events for which he sues.

The plaintiff explains that the ship sailed though “tides were unusually high and potentially dangerous.”

“As the tides were abnormally high, the passengers aboard the F/V Captain John went to lie down on the beds provided below deck to combat motion sickness and unusually choppy waters,” the suit says.

“The employees of Williams Party Boats Inc. were unable to provide bedding or places of rest to all passengers aboard.”

It adds the “shortage of beds” forced the claimant to lay on an above-deck bench.

He was later thrown off said bench, the original petition says.

Johnson asserts he was “unaware of the risks associated with this expedition prior to boarding.”

The respondent is blamed for:

• Failing to warn passengers of dangerous conditions;
• Failing to mitigate danger and risk with proper warnings;
• Proceeding with the voyage under unreasonably dangerous conditions;
• Failing to adequately limit the number of passengers; and
• Failing to provide reasonable accommodations.

Consequently, Johnson seeks unspecified monetary damages.

Attorney Anthony L. Bannwart of Bannwart & Associates P.C. in Houston is representing the claimant, and Galveston County 212th District Court Judge Susan Criss is presiding over the case.

Case No. 13-CV-1470