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Texas Supreme Court: Moving at a Snail's Pace
Remember Bob and Jane Cull and their 10-year battle with Houston homebuilder Bob Perry over their problem-plagued home? Of course you don't. Apparently, the Texas Supreme Court doesn't either...The case has focused attention on how construction disputes can last for years without resolution and raised questions about possible influence of big-dollar campaign contributions. Bob Perry is the biggest campaign contributor in Texas. He has given money to every member of the Texas Supreme Court, which now sits in judgment on the Cull case.
Wed, Mar 19, 2008
Remember Bob and Jane Cull and their 10-year battle with Houston homebuilder Bob Perry over their problem-plagued home? Of course you don't. Apparently, the Texas Supreme Court doesn't either.
The retirement-age couple from Mansfield took their case to the Supreme Court a year ago, arguing that Perry Homes has refused to pay for defects -- even though the Culls followed the rules and won an $800,000 arbiter's judgment. Perry wants the high court to reverse a string of rulings and force the Culls to start all over.
The case has focused attention on how construction disputes can last for years without resolution and raised questions about possible influence of big-dollar campaign contributions. Bob Perry is the biggest campaign contributor in Texas. He has given money to every member of the Texas Supreme Court, which now sits in judgment on the Cull case.
On Wednesday, a liberal watch-dog group issued an eye-opening report. Among findings by Texas Watch:
The Court took an average of 2.3 years to dispose of a case in the 2006-2007 term, an increase of 24% from the 2004-2005 term.
Justices take an average 416 days to write an opinion after the Court has heard oral arguments -- a 31% increase from 04-05 to 06-07.
The Court has left 72 cases pending for more than a year without responding to a request for review. Nearly three dozen cases have languished for more than 2 years.
Bankers' hours anyone?
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http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/03/texas-supreme-court-moving-at.html
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Posted by CSCH @ 6:11 PM Wed, Mar 19, 2008
So much for the unsubstantiated claim by the building industry that homeowners can easily file frivolous lawsuits and get jackpot awards. And so much for "binding" arbitration being binding equally on both parties. Perry Homes' case illustrates just about all that is unfair and one-sided in new home purchases today.
Posted by Leslie McCollom @ 2:00 PM Thu, Mar 20, 2008
The court of appeals decision in Cull v. Perry was August 31, 2005; petition for review in Tex. S.Ct. filed Oct. 18, 2005; briefing completed end of Aug. 2006 (this delay was due to the lawyers); petition review granted 12/2006; oral argument and submission, 3/20/2007. To this point, this case went properly, and frankly, quite quickly. The problem is getting the court to issue its opinion--it's already been a year.
L. McCollom, Board Certified, Civil Appellate Law