Governments regain Pine Forest lots rights
Judge again terminates 2012 development contract for Unit 6 that fell apart in 2013.
District Judge Carson Campbell issued his final judgment in the Pine Forest real estate case last week, declaring for a second time the contested development contract for the property along Texas 71 null and void.
It is a case that has been weighing on the Bastrop County court system for several years, since the city of Bastrop, Bastrop County and the Bastrop school district and developer Pine Forest Investments Group LLC began a dispute about a real estate contract the groups signed in 2012.
The investment group had been charged with building homes and infrastructure on 262 foreclosed lots deeded to the government entities. In 2013, the governments called off that deal, alleging that the developer failed to submit adequate drainage studies or deliver on its purchase promise in a timely fashion.
When County Judge Paul Pape, who chairs the Commissioners Court, searched out other developers for the lots, he said he ran into problems with the investment group, which still claimed equitable title to the land.
On Wednesday, Campbell issued a clear and written declaration terminating the contract and finding the local governments had rights to the property.
“This is a huge victory for the citizens and taxpayers of Bastrop and Bastrop County,” Pape said of the judge’s ruling. “Let’s all hope and pray that no appeal is filed so that we can move forward with developing Pine Forest Unit 6 to its highest and best use.”
Pape said he had been forced to take action against the developer after it attempted to assess existing homeowners in Unit 6 thousands of dollars to finance construction costs. Pine Forest Investments Group has denied Pape’s claim.
Language in the final judgment was submitted to the court by the governments’ attorney, William Bundren, and accepted in full with minor adjustments. Campbell agreed to remove certain phrases alleging “false and fraudulent” conduct on the part of former property owners association board members, who approved the agreements with the investment group.
Ben Wetmore, the investments group’s attorney, said board members had acted in good faith, hoping the developer could cultivate a piece of property that’s been sitting dormant since the 1980s, when a building moratorium forced a rapid succession of foreclosures.
Campbell agreed with the defense on the issue of fraud and tossed the language out of the final ruling, wrapping up most — if not all — the undecided issues in the case.
However, outside the 21st District Court on Wednesday, Wetmore said, “There are always more motions” — meaning the legal saga may not be over.
Wetmore has said repeatedly he plans to bring the case before the Texas 3rd Court of Appeals, arguing that the developer never had a chance to argue the facts of the contract case.