Wilson Secures Dismissal of Tenants' Suit Against Property Manager and Owner

Trey Wilson has secured dismissal of a Bexar County District Court lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment over the term of a Residential Lease Agreement, and the Tenants' right to occupy a San Antonio, Texas rental home. The Tenants of the property claimed that they entered a 3 year lease, while the Owner maintained that the lease was for a 1 year term. The Owner, having recently retired from the U.S. Air Force, desired to settle down in San Antonio, and permanently occupy the property he had been using as a rental during his various tours in the military.

The Owner and his property manager, Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper Realtors Property Management, indicated that the Lease would not be renewed, and demanded that the Tenants vacate the property at the end of the 1 year term. Rather than vacate, the Tenants hired a lawyer, who sued both the Owner and Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper Realtors. The Defendants retained Trey Wilson, who immediately went on the offensive.

After reviewing the condition of the property, and noting that the Tenants had committed several violations of the Lease, Wilson filed an eviction proceeding in the Bexar County Justice Court. The Tenants objected to the eviction proceeding, claiming that the disputes should be reserved for consideration by the District Court handling their previously-filed declaratory judgment suit. Bexar County Justice of the Peace Steve Walker disagreed, and conducted an eviction trial which lasted approximately 3 hours.

The Owner and Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper Realtors Property Management prevailed in the eviction trial, with Judge Walker ordering the Tenants to vacate based upon breaches of the written Lease Agreement (and notwithstanding the pending district court lawsuit).

Following this victory in the Justice Court, and given the fact that the Owner was granted immediate possession of the rental property, the Tenants agreed to dismiss their district court lawsuit in exchange for a short extension of time in which to vacate the property, and a refund of their security deposit.

The district court lawsuit was then dismissed with prejudice, with all claims against the Owner and Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper Realtors Property Management denied.

San Antonio Lease Dispute results in $2.7M Verrdict against hotel

A Bexar County jury decided to award $2.7 million this week to a local restaurant whose owners said they were fraudulently evicted last year from a North Side Drury hotel.

In the lengthy verdict, which is still pending approval from state District Judge Janet Littlejohn, jurors said Drury Southwest Inc. failed to comply with its lease with Louie Ledeaux #1 Inc.

The hotel chain also committed fraud, made a negligent misrepresentation and relied on a “false, misleading or deceptive act or practice” in dealing with the restaurant owners, the jury found Tuesday.

Louie's Hacienda Mexican Restaurant — an offshoot of a Cajun restaurant at The Forum shopping center — operated on the property of a Drury hotel near Loop 410 and Jones Maltsberger Road from December 2007 until March 2008.

Drury was the first to sue, claiming in court documents that the restaurant “closed the doors intending to not reopen.” The hotel asked the court to bar the restaurant from taking anything, other than food, from the premises because Drury was entitled under the lease to keep all improvements.

The restaurant had invested about $400,000 in equipment at the site, it said.

Louie Ledeaux #1 Inc. later filed a countersuit, claiming Drury had failed to mention during the signing of the lease that the Jones Maltsberger exit along Loop 410 was slated for closure. The hotel also said it would build a patio in an area that it did not own, and that the company would be able to add a sign under the Drury marquee, according to the counterclaim.

While the restaurant operators did meet with hotel representatives to discuss an initiative to make the restaurant more profitable, they were never delinquent in rent and never intended to close, they said in court documents.

The jury decided Drury and its lawyers deserved about $112,533 from the restaurant.

But the verdict, if upheld, will make the hotel chain responsible for paying almost $1.3 million for committing fraud and nearly $1.1 million for engaging in a false, misleading or deceptive act or practice. Jurors also awarded the restaurant $286,088 because Drury didn't comply with the lease and another $158,000 in attorney's fees.

Adapted from the Express News