Perhaps no case says more about the civil justice system and the frivolous defenses than the case of Bob and Jane Cull. A recent article in the Dallas Morning News chronicles the Culls’ case.

Ten years ago, Bob and Jane purchased their dream home from Perry Homes. Shortly after the purchase, they started experiencing problems with the house, and their saga began. In 2000, the Culls filed suit against Perry Homes. Hoping to avoid a long, legal battle, the Culls opted to submit their claims to arbitration as required by the arbitration clause in their contract. After their builder opposed the arbitration, the case went to the court of appeals and the Texas Supreme Court, who all agreed with the Culls that the case should be sent to arbitration.

In the arbitration, the Culls were awarded more than $800,000.00. Instead of paying the award, Perry Homes once again appealed. After losing at the court of appeals, Perry Home has once again appealed the case to the Texas Supreme Court.

But what makes this case so important is that Perry Homes is owned by Bob Perry, who, according to the article, is the largest individual political donor in the country. The article says that among those donations are hundreds of thousands of dollars donated to the Texas supreme court justices that are now slated to hear this case. Even more ironic is that Mr. Perry’s political donations have been important in taking away consumer’s right to jury trials, instead forcing claims to arbitration (the avenue he now seeks to avoid) or other alternatives to a jury.

This case also demonstrates one of the downfalls of arbitration:  regardless of the result, the losing party often attempts to overturn the verdict.  One article last year from Texas Lawyer discusses a losing defendant's attempt to overturn a multi-million dollar worker's compensation verdict because the arbitrator allegedly had a migraine the night before the hearing.  The article also touches on the Cull/Perry Homes litigation.

The Texas Observer had also written on the Cull/Perry Homes matter last year. 

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Name

Email

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Add Comment