Class Action Lawsuit Filed for Homeowners' Damage from 1635 LBJ Express Deep Excavation and Construction

More than twenty home and business owners from Dallas and Farmers branch filed a class action lawsuit against the building contractors responsible for the deep excavation and construction of the LBJ Express Tollway project.  The Plaintiffs seek to represent a class of land owners between Midway Road and Josey Lane whose property lie within 1,750 feet, north or south, of Interstate 635/LBJ Express.

The lawsuit seeks damages and restitution for the loss of use and enjoyment of the class members' properties, nuisance, trespass, loss of market value, loss of lateral support, and destruction to their homes and businesses from Defendants' construction activities from deep excavation and ground vibrations affecting the soil that supports their structures and/or by vibrating the structures.   The lawsuit states in a short summary on page 8:

Defendants' construction activities such as pile driving, boring, blasting, heavy traffic loads, deep excavation, and/or dewatering produced differential soil settlement and strong levels of vibration which caused damage to the Plaintiffs' and the class members' structures and improvements - in addition to the loss of lateral support from deep excavation through the class area and bordering many of the Plaintiffs and class members' homes.

Included in the lawsuit papers was an image of the deep excavation originally published at http://www.lbjexpress.com/PhotoGallery.as-ID=41

Chris Cowan, from Dallas' The Cowan Law Firm, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit stated, "Trinity Infrastructure and Ferrovial Agroman were notified more than a year ago of the homeowners' serious foundation and structural damage caused by the removal of the soil providing lateral support to the neighborhood.  Sadly, they failed to take measures to prevent such destruction during excavation, much less come back and do the right thing and repair these homes."

The Plaintiffs have asked for a jury trial.  Adesola Adeyemi of the Adeyemi Law Firm in Richardson stated, "The biggest investment the homeowners in this area have is their house.  Some of their repairs estimates are in the tens of thousands of dollars.  We know justice will prevail and the neighbors will recover the costs of repair or the fair market value of their homes by comparing their property before and after the damage."

The State of Texas was not named in the lawsuit.  Patrick Pendley, from the Louisiana law firm Pendley, Baudin & Coffin, L.L.P., explained, "While the improvements to I 635 LBJ Expressway are hugely beneficial to the public at large, we also believe the governmental entities on behalf of the taxpayers who funded this massive project expected Trinity Infrastructure and Ferrovial Agroman to perform their job in a workmanlike and considerate manner, with due regard for the risk of damage that could occur in such a close urban environment."

The lawsuit is before Judge Dale Tillery of the 134th Judicial District, Dallas County, Texas, Cause No. DC-15-03577.  No trial date has been set.  A copy of the lawsuit papers are attached.

Chris Cowan, Esq.
The Cowan Law Firm
One Meadows Building
5005 Greenville Avenue, Suite 200
Dallas, Texas 75206
214-826-1900
Fax: 214-826-8900
Cell: 214-535-6135

Patrick Pendley, Esq.
Pendley, Baudin & Coffin, L.L.P.
24110 Eden Street
P.O. Drawer 71
Plaquemine, Louisiana 70765
225-687-6396
Fax: 225-687-6398
Cell: 225-937-4530

Adesola Adeyemi, Esq.
Adeyemi Law Firm, PLLC
777 S. Central Expressway, Suite 7L
Richardson, Texas 75080
214-854-0851
Fax: 214-594-9800
Cell: 214-597-9797