DMN: Condo Dispute Sparks Lawsuit Against SMU

[MrMustang1965]

By KRISTEN HOLLAND / The Dallas Morning News

UNIVERSITY PARK – Southern Methodist University engaged in fraud and intimidation to oust residents of a condominium complex to make room for the George W. Bush presidential library, according to a lawsuit filed this month.

Gary Vodicka, who owns a condominium in University Gardens and is a member of the community's homeowners association, filed the suit in Dallas County's 134th Civil District Court.

Among the lawsuit's allegations is that a recent engineering report funded by the university was concocted to force the six remaining condo owners to sell. SMU started buying properties in the complex in 1998 and eventually gained controlling interest.Mr. Vodicka, reached at his Irving law office, declined to comment.

University Controller John O'Connor denied all the allegations, saying the decision to shut down the complex was the result of more than one study.

"The condominium board had an earlier study in response to complaints of owners and actually some of our tenants about mold," Mr. O'Connor said. "Part of the issues was with remediation and what would be done. We didn't want for there just to be a Band-Aid. We wanted a long-term solution if anything was going to be done."

The Bush administration asked SMU to submit a proposal for the presidential library in July. Though university officials and leaders have been developing a proposal for the last four years, they have yet to submit it or identify a potential site. Proposals are due to Mr. Bush's personal secretary by Sept. 15.

Fellow condo owner Robert Tafel, a Euless dentist who has filed as an additional litigant in the lawsuit, could not be reached. Lara Briggs-Tafel, his wife and lawyer, did not return phone calls.

Though Mr. Vodicka and Dr. Tafel have requested a jury trial, no date has been set because SMU hasn't filed a response. Both men seek punitive damages.

The University Gardens Homeowners Association is a defendant, as is Peruna Properties, a corporation SMU established in the late 1990s to purchase units in the complex. A dozen individuals, including several SMU housing officials, are also listed as defendants.

The lawsuit is the latest in a nearly seven-year string of scuffles between condo owners and the neighboring private university.

The last legal battle was in late 1999, after the homeowners association passed a bylaw preventing any entity from owning more than 10 percent of the condos. The conflict ended in late 2001, when both sides approved a settlement that included striking the bylaw if SMU could buy enough property within 90 days to gain majority ownership.

Citing the high cost of necessary repairs, SMU sent vacate notices to tenants in June. Many condo owners have since relocated and sold their property to the university.

An engineering and structural inspection report commissioned by SMU said the complex needs $12.4 million in repairs within the next year, followed by an additional $10.3 million over the next decade.

The most immediate problems include extensive mold damage and aging utilities, according to a summary of the inspection. All the roofs need to be replaced. If the complex were remodeled, it would also have to comply with building codes and other laws including the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act.

"From our standpoint, based on the studies that we had done, it's functionally and economically obsolete," Mr. O'Connor said. The condominium association has engaged a broker to sell the complex. Mr. O'Connor said the university is interested in acquiring the entire complex and will be submitting a bid. The school plans to raze the complex if it submits the top bid, he said.

"If someone else is a successful bidder, then what they do would be up to them," Mr. O'Connor said.

The lawsuit also alleges that the property is in fine condition and was not obsolete when SMU began to acquire units. University Gardens sits on 12 acres across Central Expressway from Mockingbird Station.

[NavyCrimson]

as dumb as smu is at times, i can't imagine they would even stoop to something like this - especially with the media now days -

another frivolous lawsuit -

[jtstang]

as dumb as smu is at times, i can't imagine they would even stoop to something like this - especially with the media now days -

Are you kidding? Of course SMU bought those condos with every intention of tearing them down and using the land otherwise. They could never admit it, but we all know that was exactly the plan. Whether it arises to actionable fraud depends on what SMU told the residents.

[NavyCrimson]

LOL

never thought of that -

[Dooby]

I guess I fail to see the fraud. SMU may be acting like an @ss, but there is no law against being an @ss.

[Dooby]

I guess I fail to see the fraud. SMU may be acting like an @ss, but there is no law against being an @ss.

This is why I would have never made a good plaintiff's lawyer. Far more easier for me to shoot holes in people's half baked ideas than it was for me to come up with my own half baked ideas.

[WildBillPony]

Now here's an opportunity: SMU offer the now-empty UG condos as temporary housing to the Tulane refugees, at least for the fall semester. Some of those units are very, very nice. I know, because I used to live in one.

[MrMustang1965]

Now here's an opportunity: SMU offer the now-empty UG condos as temporary housing to the Tulane refugees, at least for the fall semester. Some of those units are very, very nice. I know, because I used to live in one.

Not a bad idea, WildBill! Write SMU's administration and propose the idea.

One small favor: let's all stop referring to the folks who were affected by Hurricane Katrina as 'refugees'...those are people who have to leave their homeland and seek refuge in a neighboring country. It sounds like a 3rd world country.

They're our fellow countrymen. Instead, how about we refer to them as 'our fellow Americans' or at least 'evacuees'. I have several friends and former classmates who were affected by the storm. Thanks!

[WorldStang]

Well.. you hit the nail on the head '65. It's worse than a 3rd world country down there.. and just as poor. Calling them refugees is not a negative connotation.. just a factual one.

[Kappas Are Yummy]

I guess I fail to see the fraud. SMU may be acting like an @ss, but there is no law against being an @ss.

Good thing there's no law against being an @ss. Otherwise, a large portion of the staff in Perkins Administration building would be serving five to ten. It was always an argument in there, be it regarding money or credits.