Key dates in a series of lawsuits filed by University Gardens condo owner Gary Vodicka against SMU are approaching. Vodicka has three separate cases currently in court against the university relating to the school’s acquisition of the now demolished condominium complex.
SMU rejected a proposal in an Aug. 1 hearing that would have allowed a small group of university staff and administrators to be questioned confidentially about the Bush Library project. Vodicka has been trying to obtain details about the complex to bolster his claim that SMU lied about its intentions when it began buying condo units.
SMU’s legal counsel acknowledged during the hearing that the selection committee could make an announcement regarding the library as soon as September, but no decision has been finalized yet.
A possible final step in the library project is an approval by the SMU Board of Trustees. The next meeting of the board is Sept. 7. SMU Vice President for External Affairs Brad Cheves said it is likely the board will have to take some formal action. But he emphasized that is not a given because the terms of the agreement have not been finalized.
Vodicka sued SMU in August 2005 saying the university defrauded him and intimidated others out of the University Gardens condominium complex.
The case has been bouncing between state and federal courts since then due to a series of bankruptcy filings and other legal maneuvers.
The issue at stake in the case is breach of fiduciary duty, according to Vodicka. He said that SMU conspired with its employees and certain tenants in University Gardens to rent and eventually gain control of the complex.
A separate case involving a discrepancy in a deed is set for a Sept. 17 hearing.
Vodicka filed the case on Jan. 3 of this year and he claims that he has an undivided interest in a strip of land adjacent to the University Gardens site. He said the deed SMU used in court did not include the correct property description.
Cheves said the case is one in a continuing number of legal maneuvers that is distracting from the true issues at hand – that a court has said SMU followed all laws in acquiring the condominium complex.
The case regarding the title of the complex is currently at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Briefs in the case by Vodicka are due Sept. 19.
“We have a good and strong appeal,” Vodicka said.
SMU has 30 days after that to turn in its briefs in the case. A ruling in late December 2006 allowed SMU to evict Vodicka from his condo and begin demolishing the property.
