A $325,000 default judgment has been awarded to the Seafarers’ Center of Beaumont, which sued John Eric Lindell, a Nederland based certified public accountant, for failing to maintain the center’s tax-exempt status.
As previously reported, the suit was filed Feb. 15, 2012, in Jefferson County District Court.
Court records show that on March 14, 2012, the plaintiff filed a motion for default judgment, stating that Lindell failed to file a timely answer.
On March 23, 2012, Judge Donald Floyd, 172nd District Court, awarded the plaintiff $325,000 in actual damages and an additional $5,000 in attorney’s fees.
The lawsuit alleged that Lindell and his company, John Eric Lindell P.C., were contracted by the Seafarers’ Center to perform accounting work and to ensure and maintain the center’s tax-exempt status.
“In and around the month of October 2011, the tax exempt status of the plaintiff organization was lost due to the failure of defendants to timely file and complete necessary documents required by the Internal Revenue Service, thereby causing damages to the plaintiff for which it now sues,” the suit states.
The center was represented by Michael Lindsay, attorney for the Beaumont law firm Lindsay, Lindsay & Parsons.
Case No. E191-967
Seafarers’ Center of Beaumont awarded $325K default judgment
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