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Howard challenges lawsuit at City Council meeting
By Jim Kilpatrick, Staff Writer
Celina Mayor Corbett Howard publicly challenged a lawsuit at Monday night’s City Council meeting that the firm of Brown & Hofmeister filed last week against him and former City Administrator Scott Albert.
Howard read a formal statement before council members and a near-capacity audience.
“Their actions are nothing more than a retaliatory measure in response to the lawsuit the City of Celina was forced to file to recover damages from the poor legal counsel we received from Brown & Hofmeister,” Howard said.
On April 19, 2007 the law firm of Godwin Pappas Ronquillo LLP, representing the City of Celina, filed a lawsuit against the defendants Robert Brown and Brown and Hofmeister LLP.
In the lawsuit between Pilot Point and Celina regarding annexation of the Talley Ranch, Brown was representing the City of Pilot Point.
In January of 2007, Judge Bruce McFarling disqualified Brown, Brown and Hofmeister LLP, and attorney Mark Goldstucker from the lawsuit due to conflicts of interest. In the lawsuit Celina was holding Brown and Brown and Hofmeister LLP liable for legal malpractice.
“The lawyer that was negotiating with Talley Ranch on behalf of Pilot Point (Robert Brown) was the same lawyer that was helping Celina on their annexation,” said David LaBrec, Celina’s attorney in Celina v. Pilot Point lawsuit. “My client felt as if it was a conflict for Mr. Brown, and I felt like it was a conflict. Celina moved to disqualify him, and that was very expensive.”
In January 2005, Brown and his firm of Brown and Hofmeister LLP were acting as the annexation consultants for Celina and assisting with the adoption of a home rule charter.
Brown advised Celina’s City Administrator at the time Scott Albert, that Celina was ready to proceed with the involuntary annexation of Preston Hills Phase 1, 2, and 3, Oxford Farms, Eagle Country, and Preston Meadows. The intention was to bring Celina’s population to over 5,000, which would have qualified Celina for home rule status in 2005.
In June of 2005, Brown changed his advice to Celina, suggesting that they wait until January of 2007 to perform the involuntary annexation. Celina adopted a resolution in compliance with this advice.
At the same time of Brown’s advice to forestall annexation, he was also assisting Pilot Point in negotiations with Talley Ranch for Talley Ranch to become part of Pilot Point, and he had been the legal counsel for Pilot Point since April of 2004. Talley Ranch was annexed by Pilot Point in July of 2005 and a development agreement was reached between the two parties.
If Celina had reached home rule status by that time, Talley Ranch would have been in their ETJ preventing Pilot Point’s annexation.
Nine months after a lawsuit was filed by Celina, Brown and Hofmeister filed their lawsuit on Jan. 9 in the 162nd Judicial District in Dallas County.
The lawsuit alleges that Howard and then City Manager Albert both knowingly and intentionally failed to disclose key information and facts to the law firm and both Howard and Albert engaged in fraud. The Texas Municipal League, acting on behalf of the City of Celina, sent a letter to Brown & Hofmeister on Jan. 4 advising the firm not to file suit because its basis “was ludicrous and was void in its very language,” Howard said.
“We never opt to file lawsuits against a former client, but when we believe the actions of individuals cross the line ethically and legally, we feel compelled to protect our rights. This lawsuit would be unnecessary had the mayor and Mr. Albert, in our opinion, acted forthrightly and honestly in dealing with use,” the firm wrote in a release.
Brown & Hofmeister is requesting a trial by jury and is demanding actual and punitive damages against Howard and Albert.
“Apparently, there are ulterior motives at play here,” Howard said. “A partner with Brown and Hofmeister is a long time contributor to Collin County Commissioner Joe Jaynes.”
Howard and Jaynes are both republicans seeking the Collin County Commissioner’s seat for Precinct 3. They will face off in the primary on March 4 with the winner seeking election in November general election.
The law firm of Johnston Tobey is handling the law suit for Brown and Hofmeister.
“I can tell you that our counter suit against Howard and Albert has nothing to do about politics,” Robert Tobey said. “It has everything to do about the law suit Celina brought against the law firm of Brown and Hofmeister and Mr. Brown.”
He had not heard of any political favor in regards to the lawsuit and it was the first he had heard of that issue.
“In the world of politics truth is often the first causality,” he said. “I am not surprised he would try to make a connection like that.”
Jaynes said he was shocked that Howard had made this comment.
“I only know one person at Brown and Hofmeister and that is Mark Houser,” Jaynes said. “Don’t know Mr. Brown, I don’t know any of the issues, Brown Hofmeister has not done any work for Collin County, and there is no political connection on my end.”
Houser had made personal donations to his campaigns, which Jaynes estimated to be about $500 over 12 years.
“I want to make this perfectly clear I have nothing to do with this what-so-ever,” Jaynes said.
As of Wednesday neither Howard, nor Albert had been served with legal papers
Albert declined to comment on the lawsuit.
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