Galveston judge's order of dismissal shuts missing engine lawsuit

HOUSTON - A lawsuit stemming from a missing engine was closed last month, recent court records show.

Galveston County Court-at-Law No. 2 Judge Barbara Roberts signed an order approving plaintiff Ron Houck's motion to dismiss on May 11, disposing the litigation just six months after it was initiated.

Houck sued Leo Lasher, doing business as Auto World, on Nov. 7, 2012, on grounds he bought a vintage vehicle that did not have the features that were represented.

The suit showed that Lasher told Houck the 1969 AMC AMX that was the focus of the legal action had a “real 390 CI V-8 engine.”

The plaintiff purchased the car only to subsequently discover “it had a much smaller engine and these facts could not be known to anyone but [the respondent],” the original petition said.

Houck added that he paid $13,500, which supposedly was not the real price as the car “was of a much lower value because of the much smaller engine and in fact was of no value to a collector.”

Lasher reportedly did not provide a formal response to the allegations.

Citing the defendant's failure to appear, the complainant submitted a motion for default judgment in April.

His dismissal request says both parties reached an agreement, and he "no longer wishes to pursue this cause."

Cause No. 68,683