Condo owners reject $2M offer to settle Bush library lawsuit

[J.T.supporta]

i hope they get nothing now!

dumbasses

[CalallenStang]

Why do you think the condo owners hired Royce West onto their legal team? Obviously, not for his legal expertise.

Texas Procedural rule which allows a trial to be postponed if a member of the legal team is a member of the Texas Legislature and the Legislature is in session.

Bingo. It's a delay tactic. My feel is that Vodicka and LaffyTaffy are out for a (bigger) payday and/or to delay the start of construction of the Library. I don't have the legal knowledge necessary to determine whether constant delay tactics and keeping this lawsuit alive will be enough to allow them to block construction on the library considering that the library is not going to be built on the University Gardens site.

Like jt said, if this does eventually get to trial, it doesn't really matter what the facts are. The general public does not understand laws regarding fair acquisition of condo properties, but they do understand the big bad university full of rich people bullying the ordinary people into selling their condo.

SMU needs to get a change of venue.

[OC Mustang]

Why do you think the condo owners hired Royce West onto their legal team? Obviously, not for his legal expertise.

Texas Procedural rule which allows a trial to be postponed if a member of the legal team is a member of the Texas Legislature and the Legislature is in session.

Bingo. It's a delay tactic. My feel is that Vodicka and LaffyTaffy are out for a (bigger) payday and/or to delay the start of construction of the Library. I don't have the legal knowledge necessary to determine whether constant delay tactics and keeping this lawsuit alive will be enough to allow them to block construction on the library considering that the library is not going to be built on the University Gardens site.

Like jt said, if this does eventually get to trial, it doesn't really matter what the facts are. The general public does not understand laws regarding fair acquisition of condo properties, but they do understand the big bad university full of rich people bullying the ordinary people into selling their condo.

SMU needs to get a change of venue.

They haven't raised adequate money yet...I don't think construction is slated to start anytime soon. It takes about four years to get it open (at least it did for both Clinton and Reagan).

[CalallenStang]

Why do you think the condo owners hired Royce West onto their legal team? Obviously, not for his legal expertise.

Texas Procedural rule which allows a trial to be postponed if a member of the legal team is a member of the Texas Legislature and the Legislature is in session.

Bingo. It's a delay tactic. My feel is that Vodicka and LaffyTaffy are out for a (bigger) payday and/or to delay the start of construction of the Library. I don't have the legal knowledge necessary to determine whether constant delay tactics and keeping this lawsuit alive will be enough to allow them to block construction on the library considering that the library is not going to be built on the University Gardens site.

Like jt said, if this does eventually get to trial, it doesn't really matter what the facts are. The general public does not understand laws regarding fair acquisition of condo properties, but they do understand the big bad university full of rich people bullying the ordinary people into selling their condo.

SMU needs to get a change of venue.

They haven't raised adequate money yet...I don't think construction is slated to start anytime soon. It takes about four years to get it open (at least it did for both Clinton and Reagan).

Yeah, I think they are planning to start construction in 2011...Vodicka and LaffyTaffy are going to continue to delay this trial if their motive is indeed to block the construction.

[Dooby]

If the was case was that meritless, SMU would have an MSJ filed and heard and be done with it. It sounds like Judge Lowy is going to send this case to trial. The jury can hear how SMU strong-armed those condo owners when they knew the land was worth a lot more because of the Bush liberry and then manipulated the by-laws in its own favor, as well as how SMU just wanted to buy more land for campus expansion and played by fairly and by the rules and paid reasonable market value, and then those twelve typical Dallas County citizens can decide what really happened.

Actually, if you recall, SMU had a MSJ pending forever. (holy cr@p, was that back in 2006?) There was a scheduled hearing on that MSJ and on the eve of the hearing, Vodicka would try some jurisdictional trick to postpone the hearing. He did this either through amending his complaint to add some stupid RICO count and then asking for removal or by engineering a BK filing. Shortly after SMU called Vodicka's bluff and got the federal judge to authorize the demolition of the property and scheduled a hearing on the MSJ for shortly thereafter. Shortly after that, the state court judge lost re-election and Vodicka begged to get back in state court. NOt sure what happened procedurally after that.

Obviously, the democrat state court judge is giving Vodicka significantly more leeway than the last judge who was a republican. It may be that Vodicka is just letting his co-plaintiff's attorney do all the thinking and arguing or it may just be politics (or was politics, depending on your point of view). Most likely, it is a little of both.

[George S. Patton]

I'm so tired of this topic.

[EastStang]

Well they keep taking down the hot women threads, there's no basketball, no football, tennis and golf are getting started now, swimming is finishing up, women's track and field, and that's about it right now. About all there is to talk about are these shakedown artists looking for a payday.

[jtstang]

If the was case was that meritless, SMU would have an MSJ filed and heard and be done with it. It sounds like Judge Lowy is going to send this case to trial. The jury can hear how SMU strong-armed those condo owners when they knew the land was worth a lot more because of the Bush liberry and then manipulated the by-laws in its own favor, as well as how SMU just wanted to buy more land for campus expansion and played by fairly and by the rules and paid reasonable market value, and then those twelve typical Dallas County citizens can decide what really happened.

Actually, if you recall, SMU had a MSJ pending forever. (holy cr@p, was that back in 2006?) There was a scheduled hearing on that MSJ and on the eve of the hearing, Vodicka would try some jurisdictional trick to postpone the hearing. He did this either through amending his complaint to add some stupid RICO count and then asking for removal or by engineering a BK filing. Shortly after SMU called Vodicka's bluff and got the federal judge to authorize the demolition of the property and scheduled a hearing on the MSJ for shortly thereafter. Shortly after that, the state court judge lost re-election and Vodicka begged to get back in state court. NOt sure what happened procedurally after that.

Obviously, the democrat state court judge is giving Vodicka significantly more leeway than the last judge who was a republican. It may be that Vodicka is just letting his co-plaintiff's attorney do all the thinking and arguing or it may just be politics (or was politics, depending on your point of view). Most likely, it is a little of both.

It's been a long time, but didn't the federal court grant the MSJ and award the property to SMU, and was reversed by the 5th Cir on jurisdictional grounds? As far as I know since its been remanded, SMU has not set its MSJ for hearing, although somebody said earlier in this thread maybe its set for next month. I do not think that Lowy is giving any additional leeway, I think he is just cognizant of the history of this case and the significance of his decision, and frankly, he can't make SMU pursue its pretrial options. Nto sure what else he can do.

[EastStang]

For fun, SMU should invite President Obama to speak on campus. The Faculty would love it, the Press would love it, and of course all the South Dallas folks who might be on the jury might love it.

[RednBlue11]

For fun, SMU should invite President Obama to speak on campus. The Faculty would love it, the Press would love it, and of course all the South Dallas folks who might be on the jury might love it.

there might be another dance party on Binkley in front of the Sig house again.