May 19, 2003

A Familiar Knock:

 Weekley Homes
Comes On Home

When David Weekley Homes filed an appeal in Texas’ High Court last month, it was as if the builder had entered one of its own custom-built homes.

Since David Weekley’s brother Richard formed Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) to slash businesses’ legal liabilities, the Weekleys have crafted the court in their own anti-tort image. Current justices alone have taken $120,337 from TLR’s PAC ($88,337) and the Weekley family ($32,000).

If justices who took more than $5,000 from the Weekleys and TLR recused themselves from this case, only Justices Harriet O'Neill and Steven Smith could hear it. Instead, justices who spent piles of Weekley campaign cash are expected to vote secretly to review or reject this appeal.

The Weekley case, In RE Weekley Homes, epitomizes the court’s credibility crisis. When judges let private interests fund their campaigns, big donors resurface as parties to cases that are marred from the start. No matter what the justices do, some people will suspect that the court acted to reward a big donor—or to avoid the appearance of doing so.

In a case full of prodigal offspring, the last two Democrats to leave the court resurface here. Raul Gonzalez, now at Locke Liddell & Sapp ($209,317 to current justices), drafted the Weekley brief, which seeks to overturn a ruling that ex-Justice Rose Spector made as a visiting trial court judge.

That ruling affects the Richardson family’s complaint that its $235,807 Weekley home is a toxic, moldy lemon that poisoned the whole family. Judge Spector sent the parents’ claims to building-industry arbitrators (as stipulated in a Weekley contract that the parents signed) but sent the minor kids’ claims to a jury trial.

Now the brothers Weekley return to the court that they built, asking it to impose the arbitration sins of the fathers upon their children. It’s your call, brethren.• 


 
The Dollar Docket
Cases heard by the Texas Supreme Court in April and corresponding contributions to justices from the parties and/or attorneys.
 
April 2, 2003
King Ranch, Inc. v.
$344,673
William Chapman, III
$0
   
Ridge Oil Co., Inc. & Woodward v. 
$36,789
Gunn Investments, Inc.
$3,100
   
Prudential Ins. & Four Partners v.
$108,875
Prizm Partners
$25,875
   
April 9, 2003
Harry Joe, Jenkens & Gilchrist v.
$72,275
Two Thirty-Nine Joint Venture
$17,600
 
April 16, 2003
Texas Farm Bureau Mutual v.
$241,027
Jeff A. Sturrock
$0
 
Universal Health Services, Inc. v.
$232,803
Renaissance Women's Group
$650
 
In Re Ernst & Young, LLP
$490,461
 
April 23, 2003
Nir S. Binur, M.D. v.
$19,265
Donna Jacobo
$0
 
Volkswagen of America v.
$119,449
Andrew Ramirez
$0
 
City of Dallas v.
$100
Interstate Contracting Corp.
$70,675
Grand Total for April:
 $1,717,652

 

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