HOA Horror Stories: Settlement Reached In Preston Tower Dispute But Jury Trial Set For 2023

For the eighth time in seven years, a resident of Preston Tower has sued the condominium’s homeowners association — and this time the plaintiff walked away with a $1.1 million settlement. 

David Jackson filed a civil suit against the association, alleging that his request to have a roof leak fixed in 2015 was ignored, followed by years of battling for access to HOA documents. Specific legal claims include breach of contract, negligence, negligent supervision, and vicarious liability. 

Preston Tower’s HOA board has repeatedly been accused of stonewalling the residents of its 330-plus units from seeing records regarding their homes and board financials. The condo association was referred to as a “fortress” blocking communication by one resident. 

Association president Leslie Warren declined an interview with CandysDirt.com. 

We talked to Jackson, but he also declined to comment on the matter. 

Fortunately for us, Dallas County’s 68th District Court is a fan of transparency and posted everything related to Jackson’s suit online, under Case No. dc1913360.

But the saga isn’t over. A jury trial has been set for January 2023: David Jackson v. The Preston Tower Condominiums Association and Intercity Investments Inc.

In documents related to that matter, Jackson’s former attorneys Christopher Payne and Christina Alstrin claim they are owed $334,000 in attorney fees, and Jackson responded by adding the lawyers to the suit. 

Guess what? Payne and Alstrin did not respond to requests for comment. 

So we’re left to our own devices in figuring this out.

Here’s what we know: 

David Jackson had a roof leak that wasn’t immediately addressed. He started asking back in 2017 to see HOA records — his right as a homeowner and dues-paying member of the HOA — and says he was ignored or flat-out denied. 

To be fair, Preston Tower HOA said in legal documents in 2020 that its records were available to residents on weekdays by appointment, a claim several residents have disputed. 

Jackson filed suit in 2019. Earlier this year, he was paid his million-dollar settlement and moved out of Preston Tower, a 29-story building on Northwest Highway. According to court documents, he closed on the sale of his property to Preston Tower on July 28, a day after the notification was issued that Payne and Alstrin would be “filing an application to attach the settlement proceeds and alternatively to place the settlement proceeds in the registry of the court.” 

We interpret that to mean that the lawyers wanted to get paid, and they knew their former client now had a cool million in his pocket. But, again, no one is talking. 

We do know that Jackson’s swift exit from the Preston Tower condo caught the attention of his former attorneys, Payne and Alstrin. 

“This early closing is no coincidence,” reads a motion filed Aug. 10 by attorney Mitchell Madden. “Rather it reflects the concerted and continued effort by Jackson, the [Preston Tower Condominium] Association, and [Intercity Investments] to evade their payment obligations to [Payne and Alstrin] for their rightfully earned attorneys’ fees in this action. The sale of the trust’s property by Jackson, who was living at the property, means that Jackson is no longer tethered to Dallas County. Jackson has already indicated his intent to use the proceeds for other projects and has made it clear he has no intent of paying Payne Alstrin their fees.”

This Ain’t Their First Rodeo

For context, Preston Tower isn’t a luxury high-rise marketed to the extremely wealthy. Its current listings range from a one-bedroom for $214,000 to a three-bedroom for $675,000. The tenants who have sued appear to come from a “just do the right thing” mindset rather than litigious greed. 

In 2020, Greg Gutman sued the HOA over access to records. That dredged up another claim from 2018 in which Leonard Wennmohs sued over the same thing. 

Gutman claimed the Association’s board of directors and then-manager, Rob Kennehan “failed in their duties to operate the association with due regard to prudent money management, the existence of nepotism, self-dealing, absentee management, transparency of their conduct, management of the Associations’ facilities and common areas, and their duty of good faith and fiduciary obligations.”

Gutman settled with the HOA for $200,000, and Wennmohs got access to the records he was requesting. 

Tatiana Frierson sued Preston Tower in 2016 when a booster pump flooded 26 units, including hers, arguing that the HOA is responsible when damage is caused by a common element. The HOA, at the time, wanted the 26 individual homeowners to pay their own costs rather than filing a blanket insurance claim and paying a $25,000 deductible. 

Frierson also won her case and was granted a summary judgment.

Robert Marcus in 2018 moved out of the Preston Tower condo he’d lived in for three decades and rented a unit on a lower floor but was unable to move with him a $150,000 Steinway grand piano because of changes to city code involving the use of the building’s freight elevator. So, Preston Tower got a moving company, secured access to the freight elevator, and moved the expensive piano into storage, causing $7,000 in damage in the process. Marcus sued in 2019 and later received an undisclosed settlement. 

You can’t make this stuff up. 

By the way, the building is no longer managed by ICI. Worth Ross Management Co.’s Glenn Williams is now on board.

The residents — at least the ones we’ve talked to, all off the record — seem to be hopeful that the litigation might be over for now. At least until that jury trial in January.