Post by Logan on Jun 6, 2016 0:49:21 GMT -6
The judge presiding over the West explosion litigation granted a defense motion Friday to postpone the next trial on the heels of a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announcement last month that the fire that preceded the explosion was a criminal act.
Over objections from plaintiffs’ attorneys, 170th State District Judge Jim Meyer agreed to postpone the latest trial setting from July 25 to early January.
Meyer denied a defense request to stay the proceedings for at least six months, which would have put all activity in the cases on hold, including the taking of depositions and other trial preparations.
Defense attorneys argued that the May 11 announcement by ATF agents that the cause of the April 17, 2013, fire that triggered the massive explosion that leveled much of West was “incendiary, a criminal act” could be a “game changer” for the civil litigation. The attorneys requested more time to continue working with the ATF and U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr. in an effort to gain access to more evidence in custody of the ATF.
Read more: www.wacotrib.com/news/courts_and_trials/judge-postpones-west-explosion-trial-after-atf-announcement/article_1d3e80c5-9e07-507b-832c-6a3f6ae54c3b.html
Over objections from plaintiffs’ attorneys, 170th State District Judge Jim Meyer agreed to postpone the latest trial setting from July 25 to early January.
Meyer denied a defense request to stay the proceedings for at least six months, which would have put all activity in the cases on hold, including the taking of depositions and other trial preparations.
Defense attorneys argued that the May 11 announcement by ATF agents that the cause of the April 17, 2013, fire that triggered the massive explosion that leveled much of West was “incendiary, a criminal act” could be a “game changer” for the civil litigation. The attorneys requested more time to continue working with the ATF and U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr. in an effort to gain access to more evidence in custody of the ATF.
Read more: www.wacotrib.com/news/courts_and_trials/judge-postpones-west-explosion-trial-after-atf-announcement/article_1d3e80c5-9e07-507b-832c-6a3f6ae54c3b.html