BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – The North Side family who lived in the first home that exploded and went up in flames on Preston Hollow Drive last month is suing CPS Energy.
According to the lawsuit obtained by TheTXLoop Investigates on Friday, Timothy Nowell and Kimberly Nowell — as well as their child — are listed as plaintiffs in the suit.
The family is being represented by Lyons & Simmons, LLP, a Dallas-based law firm.
Lyons & Simmons, LLP is the same firm that took on the CPS Energy lawsuit filed by an East Side family injured in a 2021 house explosion. Last year, a Bexar County jury ordered CPS Energy to pay the family $109 million in damages.
A CPS Energy spokesperson later said the utility only paid the East Side family $3 million.
Days after rescinding their initial lawsuit, Mayte Terrie Reeves and Jose Ochoa, who were injured in the second April 21 house explosion on Preston Hollow Drive, refiled their suit on Tuesday and hired Lyons & Simmons, LLP to represent them.
In addition to seeking more than $1 million each in damages, the suit states the Nowell family is also requesting a jury trial.
What’s in the lawsuit
Similar to Reeves and Ochoa lawsuit filed earlier this week, the firm representing the Nowell family accuses CPS Energy of being negligent by “failing to hire, equip, and train competent and skilled workers” to safely operate its natural gas system around the home.
Attorneys also accused the utility of gross negligence due to CPS Energy having “actual, subjective awareness of the risk but proceeded with a conscious indifference to the rights, safety, or welfare of others.”
“Like those that preceded and followed it, this Explosion was entirely preventable as it was the result of the same root cause: CPS Energy’s poorly maintained, leaking, and deteriorating natural gas system, a dangerous problem of which CPS Energy is well aware,” the suit alleges.
Lyons & Simmons, LLP also referred to the second house explosion on Preston Hollow Drive, which happened approximately two-and-a-half hours after the explosion at the Nowell family’s home.
“These two events, connected by both time and proximity, demonstrate the severe and ongoing danger CPS Energy’s defective gas distribution system poses to the citizens of San Antonio, a danger that will persist unless and until CPS Energy acts,” the suit states.
Reeves and Ochoa, who were injured in the second house explosion, remained hospitalized at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC).
Family background
Timothy Nowell is a pastor at Wayside Chapel, a North Side church located in the 1700 block of Northwest Loop 410. His wife, Kimberly, teaches math at MacArthur High School in North East ISD.
According to Wayside Chapel, Nowell is a “student pastor” who has served in that ministry for more than 17 years.
Jason Uptmore, the church’s lead pastor, released a statement to TheTXLoop one day after the explosions.
“We are grateful that Tim, Kim, and Ali (the couple’s daughter) are stable,” Uptmore said, in part. “Tim and his family are deeply woven into the fabric of who we are as a church. We recognize that the road ahead will be long, but we are committed to walking with them.”
The couple’s teenage daughter also attends MacArthur High School, according to an April 22 letter sent to MacArthur High School parents and guardians.
“I have already met with our staff to inform them of this tragic situation,” MacArthur High School Principal Joaquin Hernandez wrote in the letter obtained by TheTXLoop. “Additionally, Ms. Nowell’s classes are being supported with the assistance of our counselors and administrative team. Our priority is to ensure students have immediate access to support.”
As of Friday, Timothy Nowell and Kimberly Nowell remain in critical condition at BAMC.
Read more reporting on the TheTXLoop Investigates page.
More recent coverage of this story on TheTXLoop:
Copyright 2026 by TheTXLoop – All rights reserved.