Meece family ordered to pay $320,000 in case

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Meece family ordered to pay $320,000 in case

College Station Eagle - TX*

By HOLLY HUFFMAN

Eagle Staff Writer

http://www.theeagle.com/local/Meece-family-ordered-to-pay--320-000-

in-case

Former justices of the peace and Margaret Meece have been

ordered to pay upwards of $220,000 by a Brazos County jury who found

the couple breached a contract with a home builder.

Margaret Meece's mother, Margaret Hiebeler, also was ordered to pay

more than $100,000 for a house she was having built on the same

tract of land -- owned by her daughter and son-in-law -- in Brazos

County.

The trio originally were sued in 2003 by Oakwood Custom Homes, a

company they hired to build the two homes. The company accused the

Meeces of failing to pay for work completed.

The Meeces, who previously served as attorneys for the company and

at different times held the same elected JP office, counter-sued the

following year, complaining that Oakwood did shoddy work, which led

to leaking water and the growth of mold. The pair said their health

suffered as a result -- Meece blamed, among other things,

his raspy voice on the mold --and were seeking roughly $20 million

in damages.

The civil trial began late last month, roughly five years after the

first lawsuit was filed. Twenty-five witnesses testified during the

10-day trial and jurors deliberated for about eight hours before

returning their verdict late Friday.

" The big picture was that this is a breach of contract case, " said

, a -based attorney representing OCC Construction

Corporation, also known as Oakwood.

" I just think there were so many things that the jury saw. They saw

through all of the Meece's claims -- from the alleged mold damages

to 's raspy voice. They just saw he wasn't credible. There is

a contract and they didn't honor the contract. That's what they

really focused on when they deliberated. They promised to pay and

they didn't pay. OCC did the work. "

College Station lawyer Randy Michel, who represented the Meeces,

said he and his clients didn't yet know if they would appeal. They

have 30 days after the final judgment is signed to do so.

Oakwood Owner Alton Ofczarzak first hired Meece to serve as

his attorney in 1996, according to the lawsuit. He began working

with the company in 1999 to develop plans for a house, but the two

didn't sign a contract until 2001.

The Meeces agreed to pay nearly $250,000 for a home that was to be

built by Oakwood, according to court documents. A new contract was

signed a few months later when Meece decided he wanted to

expand the size of his home. The second contract was signed for

about $293,000. Also in 2001, the company signed a contract with

Hiebeler to build a house that would cost nearly $160,000.

According to the lawsuit, company officials repeatedly had trouble

collecting money from the Meeces. At times their collection attempts

were met by threats of lawsuits, the documents state. Ofczarzak did

get some money, but Meece told him he spent a large portion of the

money that he borrowed from the bank to pay for his failed bid for

Congress in early 2002, the suit states.

Ofczarzak filed suit on behalf of his company in 2003. The Meeces

countered the following year, claiming that Oakwood made repeated

concrete, construction, plumbing and electrical mistakes that led to

lengthy project delays. The work was defective and often not up to

code, the pair said in their counter suit.

said that though the Meeces claimed to find leaks in 2003,

they didn't do anything about them until 2005 -- and then their

first call was to an expert witness in Houston. He also pointed to a

flooring witness who said he laid carpet in the home and then

returned to find farm animals had been allowed inside and had

defecated on the new carpet.

" The sad thing is that OCC had to go through so much to get to this

point just to recover what it was rightfully owed, " said.

In all, the Meeces were ordered to pay $223,226 in back payments and

lawyer fees for Oakwood's attorneys, while Hiebeler was ordered to

pay $106,653 for the same thing. said the final judgment

likely would include interest on the money that was owed and various

court fees.

Oakwood also was awarded another $80,000 worth of attorneys fees in

the event that the Meeces opt to appeal the decision to the

appellate court and Texas Supreme Court.

Michel said the crux of his argument centered around the fact that

the case was about more than just breach of contract. The home

builder did a poor job and his shoddy craftsmanship caused water to

seep behind the walls and in the ceilings, which resulted in mold

growth and medical problems for the Meece's, Michel said.

" The jury didn't see it as that kind of situation. In my opinion,

they saw it as a simple breach of contract case for both sides, "

Michel said, adding that the jury awarded the company less than they

requested. " They didn't find that and Margaret were evil

people or deceitful people or criminals or anything like that. "

• Holly Huffman's e-mail address is holly.huffman@....