Friedrich Seitz Lead Counsel in Bastrop County Complex Fire Litigation in Texas

Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative has appointed Murchison & Cumming's Wild Land Fire Litigation Practice Group Chair Friedrich W. Seitz as lead defense counsel in the Bastrop County Complex Fire litigation in Texas.

Mr. Seitz and the Wild Land Fire team will represent the Cooperative in defending against the numerous lawsuits that have been filed relating to the September 2011 fire. The Bastrop County Complex Fire started on September 4, 2011 and eventually spread to five counties, aided by severe drought conditions and high winds. It is alleged that trees fell into the electric transmission lines owned by Bluebonnet, burning 34,068 acres and destroying 1,670 homes and commercial buildings with losses estimated at $250 million.

Murchison & Cumming regularly represents utilities in litigation and has defended Southern California Edison and Breitburn Energy Partners against litigation arising out of wild land fires for many years. A Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated attorney, Mr. Seitz is a Senior Partner and served as the firm’s Managing Partner for almost 20 years. He has extensive jury trial experience holding the rank of “Advocate” with the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), having tried more than 75 jury trials. He has held various leadership roles, including Product Liability Section Chair, within the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel. Mr. Seitz is the current Product Liability Chair for the USLAW Network and is a member of the Defense Research Institute (DRI) and the Product Liability Advisory Council (PLAC).