Courtyard Apartments, Dickinson
GALVESTON – An apartment complex claims the construction of the Dickinson Independent School District's Sam Vitanza Stadium and an adjacent parking lot caused storm water to back up into the complex.
Multi-Family Baker LLC filed a lawsuit March 29 in Galveston County District Court, accusing DISD, Durotech GP LLC, Durotech Inc. and PBK Architects Inc. of failing to construct adequate drainage structures which would have allowed storm water to flow northward from the Courtyard Apartments' north parking lot and into drainage ditches in the east and west.
The school district owns the real property on which the stadium and the west parking lot sit. PBK Architects designed the facilities while Durotech and related entities acted as the general contractors.
Multi-Family Baker insists the defendants "each knew that its failure to construct adequate drainage structures was causing storm water to drain to, and collect and back up in, the Courtyard Apartments' north parking lot."
"The pooled water, which drains from the stadium to the Courtyard Apartments' north parking lot, and which cannot drain from the Courtyard Apartments' parking lot to the north or the east and west drainage ditches, has caused damage to the asphalt surface of the Courtyard Apartments' north parking lot," the original petiton says.
It adds the defendants "damaged the complainant's trash site and DISD has failed or refused to make the repairs made necessary by the conduct of DISD and Durotech."
Subsequent efforts to resolve the issue failed as the school district allegedly failed and refused to compensate Multi-Family Baker.
"Such conduct was knowing, in bad faith, and was with malice or grossly negligent," the suit says.
"DISD specifically intended to cause harm to the plaintiff by violating the plaintiff's rights in and to the Courtyard Apartments."
Consequently, Multi-Family Baker seeks a permanent injunction enjoining the defendants from permitting a diversion or impounding of surface water by the defendants to continue in a manner that damages its property by the overflow of the water diverted or impounded in addition to unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams LLP is representing the plaintiff, and Galveston County 122nd District Court Judge John Ellisor is presiding over the case.
Case No. 11-cv-0535