The litigation has already started in the wake of Texas’ winter storm and energy grid disaster, from the first wrongful death actions to a negligence-based class action lawsuit. But plaintiffs lawyers, defense attorneys and tort-reform lobbyists who focus on the insurance industry say the waves of property-damage and business-interruption suits that will soon inundate court dockets statewide against insurers and other companies may be unprecedented.

As George Christian, senior counsel at the Texas Civil Justice League, a tort reform and business liability-focused organization, said, “In the 35 years I have been involved in the Texas tort and liability insurance field, I have never seen anything like this.”