Motion for summary judgment entered into Galveston fence lawsuit

GALVESTON - The defendants in a lawsuit arising from an apparent fence dispute have submitted a motion for summary judgment, recent court records show. 

Martha and John Smith entered the 16-page motion into the litigation Dec. 27 on the grounds "there are no material fact issues."

Local resident Ursula Burton, her companion Loy Coxsey and Burton's parents are suing the Smiths over the partition between their Galveston homes.

The original petition filed in late October asserts that John Smith built the fence in question way into the plaintiffs' property.

Said fence was intended to be an extension of the existing one in front of his residence, however, it reached three feet onto the complainants' property, the suit says.

According to the plaintiffs, the project ruptured a gas line and ruined their landscaping.

The Smiths' motion disputes the complainants' ownership to the area which is the focus of the legal battle, insisting their suit's "various claims arise from a delusional belief that the plaintiffs own part of the defendants' lot and home."

"As the plaintiffs do not own the disputed land, the claims are without a basis in law or fact," it states.

Attorney Susan Thomas Powell of Galveston is representing the Smiths.

Cause No. 68,612