Double Oak Construction Causes Yet Another Delay in Elm Grove Lawsuits
After stonewalling discovery in the Elm Grove lawsuits, on December 27th, defendant Double Oak Construction objected to use of the documents in court that the judge forced it to produce. I don’t know what’s in those documents, but I plan to camp out at the courthouse when this case goes to trial. The documents must be juicier than Juicyfruit gum.
Summary of Objections
After producing documents, Double Oak now objects to their use in court.
The plaintiffs filed notice that they intended to use, in court, all documents and items produced by Double Oak during discovery.
Double Oak claims that this notice is insufficient and contradicts the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
The Plaintiff’s Notice leaves them, they say, without knowledge of the specific documents plaintiffs intend to use. That, claims Double Oak, handicaps the company in its ability to defend itself. It must prepare to object to every single document, they say.
But the objections don’t stop there. Double Oak reserves its right to make further objections when the company becomes aware of specific documents being used by the plaintiffs.
And if that isn’t enough, Double Oak reserves the right to object to all documents on all grounds, including documents produced by third parties.
Here is the full text of Double Oak’s objections.
No End in Sight to Delays
Sadly, there’s no end in sight to these procedural delays in court. They parallel the construction delays on the actual job site.
Perry Homes broke its promise to the Houston City Attorney to accelerate construction of additional detention ponds. Perry pulled all actual excavation equipment from the job site in December. Only Double Oak crews turning dead trees into mulch remain.
Meanwhile, the flood risk remains high for the people of Elm Grove. Based on detention capacity in place today, that risk is no lower now than it was in August before Imelda. That’s when work on the site came to a virtual standstill.
Playing the delay game is a high risk strategy for companies already facing obscenely high risk due to previous delays.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/5/2020
859 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 108 after Imelda
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
