Dickinson man claims property sale was fraudulent

GALVESTON - Claiming Dickinson resident Barbara Jean Morgan and her late spouse Freddie Morgan Jr. refused to convey local real property to him, James M. Ayers has filed a lawsuit.

Recent court papers filed Feb. 2 in Galveston County District Court allege the Morgans committed fraud by representing that they owned property which they did not.

The original petition explains that Ayers purchased a plot located in the Moores Addition subdivision in Dickinson, for $13,500 from the defendants on Oct. 25, 2006.

Ayers placed a down payment of $1,500 and consented to remitting a monthly payment of $260.99 for five years. According to the complaint, the Morgans provided a sworn affidavit stating they were owners of the property in question and that all taxes, fees and any other charges against it had been paid through 2005.

The plaintiff states he made 28 months worth of payments when an individual named Earnest W. Walker contacted him that the property was actually under the ownership of Earnest W. Walker Family Limited Partnership, "and that (the Morgans) had no interest in the property and had no right to have sold it to the plaintiff or to have represented they had title."

Ayers claims he immediately contacted the defendants about the development, and Freddie Morgan Jr. promised the plaintiff he would purchase the property from Walker and convey it to him in accordance with the original agreement in 2006.

The Earnest W. Walker Family Limited Partnership turned the property over to the Morgans in May 2009, but the defendants "have failed and refused to convey the property to the plaintiff," the suit says.

The plaintiff claims unpaid property taxes and fines arising from numerous code violations total approximately $9,000.

Consequently, Ayers seeks a declaratory judgment indicating that he has no ownership interest in or responsibility for the maintenance or taxes on that property as well as a jury trial.

He is represented by The Law Offices of Kerry L. Neves.

The case has been assigned to Galveston County 405th District Court Judge Wayne Mallia.

Case No. 12-cv-150