On July 24, 2020, the Third Court of Appeals issued an opinion that largely affirmed a 2018 jury verdict obtained by the Snell Law Firm in favor of its client on all causes of action. The court’s memorandum opinion, aside for a very minor exception, affirms Judge Soifer’s rulings and the judgment entered. The decision slightly modifies the trial court’s final judgment by removing four words. As a result of the slight changes, the court determined the trial court must reconsider the attorney fees awarded to the firm’s client. the Snell Law Firm expects no changes to the attorney fee award upon reconsideration, which amount to more than three hundred thousand dollars. Jason Snell had this to say: “We could not be happier for our client and the entire legal team. Hopefully, very soon, our client can close the book on this baseless litigation brought by Plaintiffs.”
The appellate proceedings stem from a September 2018 week-long jury trial before Judge Jan Soifer in Travis County District Court. the Snell Law Firm obtained a jury verdict in favor of its client on all claims brought by the parties. Plaintiff appealed the trial court’s final judgment and award of attorney fees to Defendant.
The week-long jury trial related to a real estate transaction involving the purchase and sale of commercial real estate in Austin. the Snell Law Firm’s client is a Denver real estate investor—Lamar Gateway Baceline Holdings, LLC—that sold Plaintiff land adjacent to its retail shopping center. The dispute centered on Baceline’s ability to restrict the building height on the land sold and whether the sale included the shopping center’s 35-foot pylon sign. The judge and jury reached their verdicts after hearing testimony from seven different witnesses, including multiple real estate professionals involved in the transaction. The judge and jury determined Baceline has the right to restrict Plaintiff’s building height and the pylon sign’s conveyance was the result of a mistake made by both parties in the conveyance documents.
Based in Austin, Texas, the Snell Law Firm has proudly been providing excellent legal services since 2007. With diverse strengths in many areas of law, the firm’s accomplished team provides strong legal counsel and fierce courtroom representation on a wide range of civil litigation matters, including business and commercial disputes, real estate litigation, construction matters, and class action litigation.
The Third Court of Appeals’ full decision can be accessed here.