Spring Break
Stay lifted in University Gardens case
Case will proceed in state district court in August
Mark Norris, Managing Editor, mnorris@smu.edu
- Page 1 of 1
Judge Harlin D. Hale ruled Monday that the bankruptcy filing of Gerry Jetton played too small a role in the University Gardens litigation to delay it further and lifted a stay ordered by the state district court to allow the litigation to proceed.
Brad Cheves, SMU's vice president for development and external affairs, said the judge's ruling is "hopefully a step in ending the litigation and will make it possible for this to be resolved."
Gary Vodicka, the man at the center of the original case, said he "fully expected [the judge] to do that."
The ruling came Monday afternoon in a Northeastern District of Texas bankruptcy court. The case was originally before Judge Barbara Houser, but Vodicka said he filed a motion late Sunday to have the judge removed from the case because of her position as an adjunct professor in the Dedman School of Law.
Houser recused herself Monday morning and forwarded the case to Hale.
The next hearing in state district court has not been set yet, but both sides say it will be sometime in August.
The motion to move the case back to state district court ends one delay in the lengthy litigation over University Gardens and its role as a possible site for the George W. Bush Presidential Library.
SMU reiterated in court Monday that the site could be used for intramural fields or student housing, not just for the possible library.
Vodicka said that SMU is using "smoke screens and mirrors" in its effort to gain control of the property. He said that in a July 3 deposition, university comptroller John O'Connor said he had viewed plans that had the library on the University Gardens site.
Vodicka said he hopes that the 3-D model of the proposed library will be allowed to be shown as part of the district court trial because it would show SMU's true intention for the property.
The next date of interest in the saga is August 4, when SMU, Vodicka and co-litigant Robert Talfel are scheduled to sit down for a mediation session. The June 27 session never occurred because Talfel and his lawyers were not able to attend.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
anonymous949
anonymous949
posted 7/18/06 @ 4:10 PM CST
We don't need another library. We NEED student housing. This is all a load of crap. Of course SMU was buying out everyone to put up a library. I don't believe there was ever black mold. (Continued…)
anonymous949
anonymous949
posted 7/19/06 @ 9:39 PM CST
i think this is just another example of SMU adhering to its own perception of laws and decency. they keep raising tuition, which not only affects people who came in under a lower tuition rate, but gives almost no turnout in light of the higher cost of education; students expect to see something,ANYTHING, for their cash, but instead all they get is another mud-filled construction site that is never finished before they graduate. (Continued…)
anonymous949
anonymous949
posted 7/29/06 @ 12:41 AM CST
As the University grows and garners momentum, its expansion is part of the natural course of an organization of scale. The benefits we enjoy as students today are only a result of prior generations making choices and spending capital. (Continued…)
Post a Comment