Houston, TX — A lengthy legal battle culminated in a Houston court room where a jury delivered a verdict favoring Tepeyak Group LLC in a multifaceted legal dispute against Pennington Companies Inc. and its subsidiary, Coast to Coast Motors, LLC. The verdict came after rigorous legal confrontation in the Harris County 270th Judicial District Court.
Pennington Companies had initiated legal action against Tepeyak in June 2021, leveling serious allegations including real estate fraud, common law fraud, and breach of contract. They sought compensatory and punitive damages totaling over $2 million dollars which included $1.5 million in economic losses and additional sums for attorney fees and punitive damages.
In a strategic counter-move, Tepeyak filed claims against Pennington Companies citing tortious interference and breach of contract, and also pursued legal action against the subsidiary, Coast to Coast, alleging statutory fraud and violations of their lease agreement. Reclaiming attorney fees and other indemnifications was also part of Tepeyak’s defensive legal strategy.
The trial saw jurors decidedly rejecting all allegations made by Pennington against Tepeyak, finding instead that Pennington and its subsidiary had notably breached their lease agreement and committed statutory fraud against Tepeyak. The jury resolved to award Tepeyak $20,000 in damages for the contractual breaches and covered all the legal fees incurred by Tepeyak.
This legal dispute rooted back to a $2.5 million commercial real estate transaction in 2019, where Tepeyak Group sold a property in Harris County’s extraterritorial jurisdiction to Pennington Companies. Despite the property allegedly carrying multiple code violations, some linked to constructions made by Coast to Coast Motors without requisite permissions, Pennington proceeded with the purchase.
County authorities subsequently became involved, suing Pennington over failure to adhere to building and zoning codes. Pennington agreed to undertake remedial actions in lieu of demolishing the unapproved structures. The complexities intensified when in 2021, Pennington sought reparations from Tepeyak, attributing damages to actions and omissions by Coast to Coast.
The trial, presided by Judge Dedra Davis, started on March 26, unveiling a string of unauthorized constructions by Pennington and its subsidiary in vulnerable flood plains, along with other hazardous violations. After several delays, the legal presentations wrapped up with jury charges and closing arguments on April 16.
Representatives for Tepeyak, including shareholders R. Kyle Hawes and senior counsel Michael Feibus, were lauded for their meticulous handling of the trial. Elizabeth Pollard, playing a pivotal role in this legal victory, engaged in essential pretrial discussions, supervised trial motions, and was instrumental in jury interactions during her debut trial.
Following the jurors’ decision, Tepeyak’s legal team expressed gratitude towards the dedication shown by the jurors and applauded the justice meted out in their verdict, acknowledging the challenging conditions under which the trial was conducted.
The case, officially recorded as The Pennington Companies v. Tepeyak Group LLC no. 202132353, marks a vital precedent in real estate and contractual law within Harris County’s legal annals.
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