Menu
Your Legal Question
Sign up for our monthly newsletter
The Blog
Collecting Debts
Broken Promises
Business Litigation
Business Divorce
When You Are Sued
TRO/Injunctions
Landlords/Tenants
Liens
Foreclosure
The Press
Disclaimer
|
"One of the Worst Days of My Life"
Braden Power was a defendant in one of our cases.
He is also wealthy and a part owner of a successful real estate
company. We obtained a court order requiring him to turn over his
50% ownership in their company, Power
Properties. After the Judge entered the order the newspapers
picked it up pretty quickly. Here are four articles presented
chronologically about the case, two from the Dallas Morning News, one from
the Dallas Business Journal and one from a blog run by the Dallas
Observer called "Unfair Park". Note the quote in the
last article, he was having "one of
the worst days of my life".
That is the secret to debt collection. You must
work your way to the front and center in the debtor's mind.
From the Dallas Business Journal:
Dallas Business Journal - 2:53 PM CDT Monday, May 7, 2007
Staff Writer
A Dallas businessman has been ordered by a Dallas County Court at
Law judge to sell his interests in a Dallas real estate company he
co-founded to satisfy an arbitration award related to a property in
California.
According to the arbitration award, Braden Power, of Power
Properties Management Inc. in Dallas, sold a home to a Los Angeles
couple for $2.45 million.
Power Properties has purchased, renovated and leased several
properties in the Dallas area, including Tuscany Condominiums, a
100-unit complex near Greenville Avenue south of Lovers Lane, Bella
Gardens, a 73-unit property off the Dallas North Tollway in University
Park, as well as properties near downtown, Deep Ellum, White Rock
Lake, Swiss Avenue and the Munger Historic District.
Power did not immediately return a call for comment Monday.
According to the arbitration board's ruling, the couple, Kathia
Molina and Fausto Zapata said in a lawsuit that after buying the home
from Power in 2004, they left on vacation for a few weeks and returned
to a home that was in "shambles," with water coming in
through the windows, roof and walls.
The home had served as Power's personal residence. Power had lived
in the home for two years and told the couple it had undergone nearly
$1 million in upgrades and remodeling, according to the arbitration
ruling.
In the arbitration ruling from 2006, Power said the water leakage
was the result of several factors, including record rainfall,
pre-existing conditions and work done by other workers, which he was
not personally aware of.
In May 2006, Power was ordered by the arbitration board to pay more
than $452,325. The award included $300,000 the couple spent to repair
the house, and more than $70,000 for their living expenses while the
house was being repaired.
When Power failed to pay, the couple hired Darrell
W. Cook & Associates to domesticate the California judgment in
Texas and to collect the judgment. A Dallas County Court at Law judge
ruled Friday in the matter, the law firm said in a statement.
According to the ruling, Power was ordered to turn over his
interest in Power Properties to the Dallas County Sheriff's office by
June 4. He was also ordered to pay $5,000 in attorneys fees to the
plaintiff.
jsjordan@bizjournals.com | 214-706-7106
This is from the somewhat irreverent Dallas Observer:
Mon May 07, 2007 at 12:13:02 PM
On their
Web site, brothers Braden and Craig Power -- the namesakes
of 13-year-old Power Properties on Gaston Avenue -- have posted a
number of complimentary newspaper stories written about
their efforts to restore old Dallas homes and apartment
complexes, including, perhaps most famously, their work
rehabbing the formerly rundown Lakewood
Apartments on Gaston Avenue. Among the pieces is a Dallas
Morning News High
Profile the two received a few years back, which celebrated
their having "built Power Properties into a successful
company that stands to generate about $6 million in revenue this
year."
This
story probably won't make the Web site: Today, it was
announced Braden Powers has till June 4 to turn over to the
Dallas County Sheriff's Department his interests in the company,
which he has to surrender because of a $600,000 arbitration
award in California that was enforced last week by Dallas
County Judge King Fifer.
According to the release, in 2004 Power sold a $2.45
million home just outside of Los Angeles to Kathia Molina and
and her husband, Fausto Zapata. According to court documents,
he told them the joint had just been the recipient of a
million dollars' worth of "high-end renovations."
Turns out, not so much: When the couple came home from a
vacation, says the press release, "They discovered that a
series of rainstorms had resulted in water coming into their
new house through the windows, roof and walls."
Power was ordered to pay $600,000; when he didn't, a judge
ruled late last week that Power is to turn over "any and
all interest" he owns in the company he co-founded, as
well as "any shares of stock owner or held" in his
company. He also has to pay Molina $5,000 in attorney's fees.
Power Properties also has a number of apartments outside of
Lakewood -- most notably, the Paradiso Condos on Walnut Hill
Lane and North Central Expressway. Here's what
some locals have to say about that place -- and other
Power Properties properties.
Before you go, though, don't miss this highlight from The
Dallas Morning News' High Profile on Braden Power. Says
the story, his "quirks are legendary among his friends.
He can't sleep when the temperature is higher than 68 degrees.
He must have exactly four pillows on his bed. He sometimes
gets out of the car before it stops. And he routinely goes
searching for his keys around his apartment when they are
right in his hand." Wait, back up. He sometimes gets
out of the car before it stops? That's not a quirk. --Robert
Wilonsky
Renovator
could lose stake
Braden
Power ordered to sell Power Properties share to pay judgment
12:00
AM CDT on Tuesday, May 8, 2007
By
ERIC TORBENSON / The Dallas Morning News
etorbenson@dallasnews.com
A prominent Dallas apartment and condominium renovator
faces a $605,672 judgment that could force him to sell his
stake in his property management company, an attorney
representing unpaid homeowners said Monday.
Braden Power has been ordered to sell his stake in Power
Properties by June 4 in order to cover an arbitration judgment
against him. A couple who bought his Los Angeles home brought
the legal action, said Darrell Cook of Darrell W. Cook &
Associates in Dallas.
Kathia Molina and Fausto Zapata bought a Los Angeles home
from Mr. Power in 2004 for $2.45 million. Mr. Power told them
he'd invested almost $1 million in upgrades throughout the
residence and assured them that the home had a new roof and
"was in great shape" according to court documents.
The couple returned from a vacation to find that rainstorms
had waterlogged the home and made it a "shambles."
Water had seeped through the windows, roof and walls, forcing
$300,300 in repairs. The couple also spent $74,300 to replace
personal items such as electronic equipment and for living
expenses while the house was fixed.
Mr. Power didn't return calls seeking comment Monday. He
and brother Craig created Power Properties more than 15 years
ago, specializing in renovating apartments in East Dallas and
Lakewood. The company owned more than 600 units in 2002,
according to the company's Web site. The company offers a
rent-to-own option to get tenants into condominium units.
Mr. Power had lived in the Los Angeles home for two years
before selling it and blamed record rainfall and pre-existing
problems in the house he didn't know about for the water
damage. He said the couple didn't do an adequate home
inspection before buying.
A California arbitrator ruled against Mr. Power in February
2006, though Mr. Power didn't pay, Mr. Cook said. On Friday, a
Dallas County judge ordered Mr. Power to turn over his equity
stake in Power Properties so that its sale could pay off the
judgment.
"It's pretty unusual," Mr. Cook said of Mr.
Power's failure to pay. "Usually we see builders
approaching the plaintiff" to settle these kinds of cases
before they reach this stage, he said.
Mr. Power's stake in Power Properties may be worth far more
than what he owes, Mr. Cook said. "I would think somebody
would want a piece of that business," he said.
Mr. Cook expects Mr. Power to appeal the latest effort to
persuade him to pay. Meanwhile, he wants court permission to
seize a Turtle Creek home of Mr. Power's to satisfy the
judgment.
"He's trying to say his assets are shielded by a
trust, but we'll see what the judge has to say about
that," Mr. Cook said.
From the Dallas
Morning News
Renovator
explains delay in settlement payment
Power says he
first wants to resolve his own suits tied to claim
12:00 AM CDT on
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
By ERIC
TORBENSON / The Dallas Morning News
etorbenson@dallasnews.com
Dallas real estate renovator Braden Power said Tuesday that he
hadn't paid a California settlement against him because his own
lawsuits related to the claim haven't been resolved.
Mr. Power rebutted statements made Monday by attorney Darrell Cook,
who represents a couple who bought a Los Angeles home from Mr. Power
in 2004. The home took on heavy water damage in a storm and required
expensive repairs, and an arbitrator ruled against Mr. Power.
Mr. Cook said Mr. Power has until June 4 to put up equity in his
company, Power Properties, to help satisfy the claim after a Dallas
County judge ordered that the $605,672 California arbitration
settlement could be enforced here.
Mr. Power, who didn't return calls on Monday, said Tuesday that he
was having "one of the worst days of my life" after business
associates and other real estate developers called him about the
story. He disputed that the couple, Kathia Molina and Fausto Zapata,
didn't know about problems with the $2.45 million home's roof after a
record-breaking rainstorm damaged the home.
"They signed off on a document that said there were problems
with the roof," said Mr. Power, who founded Power Properties with
his brother. The company has renovated apartment buildings in East
Dallas and won praise from civic leaders and residents for improving
blighted complexes. Mr. Power's involvement in Power Properties won't
change because of the ongoing suit related to the Los Angeles home, he
said.
"After selling 450 units, I've never had even one claim
against me," Mr. Power said. He's being sued in the California
home case because the contractor who did the renovations didn't obtain
insurance for the roof. His suits against the insurance company
involved in the case and couple are pending, and he will enter
settlement talks once those suits have been resolved, he said.
Power Properties had nothing to do with the home.
"While legalities remain an accepted part of the business
climate, personal attacks certainly are not," Mr. Power said in a
prepared statement. He said in an interview that the couple were
trying to get their money faster by publicizing the case.
Post-Judgment Interest Changes
This Is Why You File Liens
Yeah, but what about the roof?
Settle our Garnishment? Um, no.
No, we won't take half to settle. Here's a garnishment instead.
Um, That's My Airplane
A Turnover for the Ex.
Take the 5th, lose your stuff.
If I pay you, then you can't foreclose on my house!
Rent it, don't steal it.
Of Debts- and Jerry Jones' Airplane
Watch out for the Girlfriend
Can You Get Arrested In Florida?
A TRO for All Seasons
An Old Lady Loses Everything
Magic Letterhead
"One of the Worst Days of My Life"
Email: Darrell
W. Cook
Ask
Your Legal Question Here
|
