Dredging Claims and the Valley - A Plaintiff's Perspective

A Lawyer's Speech Opens a New Venue In Ongoing Battle

Wall Street Journal, February 27, 2007

When Texas plaintiffs' lawyer Anthony Buzbee gave a provocative address last year to maritime defense attorneys in Lake Las Vegas, Nev., he says he had no idea that an audience member about 20 feet away from him was taping the speech.

Dredging Claims and the Valley - A Plaintiff's Perspective

Anthony Buzbee is one of the major plaintiff's attorneys filing lawsuits in Texas' Rio Grande Valley against dredging companies. Buzbee attended the Annual Marine and Energy Seminar in Henderson, Nevada on May 28 - 31, 2006. More than 100 domestic and international marine and energy underwriters, brokers, agents, claims professionals, contractors, surveyors, adjusters, and defense and plaintiff's attorneys also attended.

Due to the current litigation issues in the Valley, a portion of the seminar focused on the issues dredging companies face. Experts from various fields participated in a roundtable discussion to explore options that may be available to better deal with the growing number of lawsuits being filed in the Valley.

Buzbee's talk entitled, "Dredging Claims and the Valley - A Plaintiff's Perspective" was presented at the Lake Las Vegas Ritz Carlton on May 30. A transcript and audio recordings of his comments are available below.

Download the Transcript

Download the transcript to Attorney Anthony Buzbee's "Dredging Claims and the Valley - A Plaintiff's Perspective"

Listen to the Audio Clips

Audio Clip 1:
"As a plaintiff's attorney, I'm going to get a case probably worth at least 60 to 70 percent more if it is filed in the Valley."
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Audio Clip 2:
"You're wasting a lot of money - you should've paid that money to the client and got out of the case, to my client."
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Audio Clip 3:
"All you do is waste a lot of money."
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Audio Clip 4:
"Maybe in Harris County, Galveston County, we need to show here's what the company did wrong, all right? But when you're in Starr County, traditionally, you need to just show that the guy was working, and he was hurt."
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Audio Clip 5:
"It becomes personal, and then it's like nuclear war. And guess what, in nuclear war, guess who loses? The person paying the bill."
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Audio Clip 6:
"Who won? Well, I guess the law firm that billed the high amount, I suppose. Certainly you're going to pay the lawyer."
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Audio Clip 7:
"You don't have a chance, that's a fact, you don't have a chance."
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Audio Clip 8:
"Boy, that stuff down there doesn't work: it works over in one of the parishes in Louisiana, it works in Harris County, it does not work in the Valley. It's a whole different background here."
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Audio Clip 9:
"The Hidalgo County judge is going to give me my two hours; that's enough to knock out jurors and then you're left with a jury who is favorably disposed to the case."
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