HOUSTON - Environmental advocates take on SpaceX's Boca Chica launch site and another woman comes forward with sexual assault allegations against a Spring physical therapist are among the stories from five recently filed cases in Southeast Texas.
Save RGV v. Space Exploration Technologies Corporation
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas-Brownsville
Save RGV is a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the Rio Grande Valley and on Oct. 9 sued Elon Musk's SpaceX over alleged pollution from SpaceX launches and tests, claiming untreated industrial wastewater is being sent into the surrounding environment.
Save RGV sues under the Clean Water Act, urging the court to put an end to this alleged contamination. The group already put the federal Environmental Protection Agency on notice of the suit.
Civil penalties for violating the CWA could be a result of the lawsuit for SpaceX.
"SpaceX's unpermitted discharges of untreated industrial wastewater degrade water quality and harm aquatic life in these waters and thus impair Save RGV's members' use and enjoyment of the waters," the suit says.
"SpaceX's industrial discharges from its deluge system are ongoing and continuous, occurring regularly during each launch and each static fire test."
Lauren Ice and Marisa Perales of Perales, Allmon & Ice in Austin represent Save RGV.
Jane Doe v. Select Physical Therapy Holdings and William Abalos
Harris County District Court
This is the second lawsuit brought in Houston state court against William Abalos and his former employer, with both alleging he sexually assaulted women by surreptitiously placing his penis in their hands during physical therapy.
This Jane Doe says she regularly received treatment from Select Physical Therapy for neck and lower back pain, but things changed on Dec. 29, 2022, when Abalos was assigned to her.
She was told to lay face down on a treatment table for weight exercises, including squeezing a rolled-up towel, the suit says.
"Abalos then placed something into Plaintiff's hand, but when Plaintiff squeezed the object as instructed, she realized that she was touching a penis," the suit says. "Plaintiff sat up and saw Abaos' elastic waistband of his pants snap up to his waist as he fell into a chair opposite the treatment table."
Abalos was arrested a month later, and the suit says a police search of his cell phone revealed photos and videos of other assaults. Shame and flashbacks are among the mental injuries for which Jane Doe seeks compensation.
A May 2023 lawsuit makes similar accusations and is headed to trial in February. The Buzbee Law Firm represents the plaintiff in the new lawsuit, filed Oct. 10.
Jane Does 1-2 vs. Nothing Bundt Cakes
Harris County District Court
Two unnamed employees of Nothing Bundt Cakes in Webster say they were filmed by a hidden camera in the employee restroom, but the company's owner did not take appropriate action to address it.
"The individual responsible for placing the camera, John Doe, was neither suspended nor terminated and was scheduled to work the following day," says the suit, filed Oct. 10.
The owner of the bakery took the camera home with her, the suit alleges. This occurred around May 31, the suit says. The Buzbee Law Firm represents the plaintiffs.
Harris County v. Staples, Inc.
Harris County District Court
The county wants money for an employee allegedly injured when the chair Staples sold Harris County collapsed in October 2022. The Oct. 10 suit says it was either assembled wrong or contained a product defect.
The unnamed employee couldn't work after sustaining injuries from the fall, and Harris County had to provide Workers' Compensation benefits that it now seeks to recoup from Staples.
Jose Vargas vs. Super Noodle Company and TC Team Investment Group
Harris County District Court
Jose Vargas says he went to work as a machine operator at Super Noodle Company on Oct. 20, 2022, and ended up being stabbed 15 times that day by a coworker.
He accuses the defendants of knowing Marlon Riquelmin Ramirez Grijalva's dangerous propensities but instead encouraged him to be violent and aggressive in the workplace.
Grijalva had pushed Vargas to the ground and threatened to kill him the day before the stabbing. Vargas said the stabbing caused excruciating pain and injuries all over his body, not to mention lasting mental effects.
The suit also says Super Noodle failed to obtain Workers' Compensation insurance. Melissa Moore of Moore & Associates represents Vargas.