Brent Coon, co-lead counsel for the victims of the Port Neches 2019 petrochemical plant explosion.Judge Spends 3 Hours Explaining His Decision
A judge sympathetic to the hundreds of victims of the massive Port Neches refinery explosion was not able to convince the defendant corporation to pay $292 million in restitution as part of a criminal sentence plea.
January 17, 2025 at 04:25 PM
7 minute read
What You Need to Know
- TPC Group, a global petrochemical producer, owned a plant near Beaumont the exploded in 2019.
- Thousands of residents had injury claims, but the great majority of liability was discharged in bankruptcy.
- A federal criminal charge opened TPC to a victims restitution fine but TPC withdrew from a plea bargain to avoid it.
A proposed plea agreement between federal prosecutors and TPC Group that involved negotiations that excluded the crime victims, fell apart after the Texas judge insisted the defendant pay $292 million in restitution.
On Jan. 10, U.S. District Judge Michael Truncale gave the parties a three-hour dissertation in Beaumont to justify his restitution decision.
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