Homeowners sue over incomplete repairs to Tiki Island house

GALVESTON - Tiki Island residents Candee Hoff and Edwin Lewis Scofield III claim JLMB Properties Inc. forced them to pay additional sums of money for home repairs which were never completed, recent court documents say.

According to a lawsuit filed Aug. 3 in Galveston County Court at Law No. 3, JLMB and its owner, Mark Bounds, performed little work and ultimately abandoned the project in the 1200 block of Maui Drive, despite being paid more than 90 percent of the agreed amount of $36,000.

Hoff and Scofield, who are daughter and father, purchased the home after it was damaged during Hurricane Ike.

They fielded bids from several contractors and brought in an engineering firm to provide the plans for the remodeling.

The suit shows JLMB earned the bid because the plaintiffs believed it "to have the correct credentials."

"The defendant represented that he was competent to complete all work in the bid and the defendant claimed to be Christian," the original petition says.

A down payment of $12,000 was tendered in April 2009.

At the same time, the respondents consented to remove and replace the exterior siding, add a new third floor addition, build new stairs, frame the exterior and interior up to code and sheetrock all living areas for the aforementioned amount of $36,000.

The suit further explains that the defendants demanded more money as the project progressed though they reportedly did little work.

"The defendant threatened the plaintiffs that he would walk off the job if they did not pay additional sums," it states.

"The plaintiffs paid additional money to prevent the defendant from walking off the job."

By late July 2009, the complainants allegedly paid a total of $32,634.

They assert the defendants had not completed any of the tasks, adding the work came to a complete halt in August 2009 when the work crews were instructed to leave the jobsite.

Consequently, the plaintiffs sue for economic, actual and multiple damages.

A jury trial is requested.

Hoff is representing herself and her father, and Galveston County Court at Law No. 3 Judge Christopher Dupuy is presiding over the case.

Cause No. 65,758