The Firm’s client brought suit after a real estate investor reneged on an oral promise to sell undeveloped land in a resort community near Austin, Texas. The parties entered their agreement shortly before the real estate market’s recent runaway price increases, and once that started the investor refused to transfer the property unless our client paid at least double the agreed-to purchase price.

The Firm filed suit and recorded a lis pendens, which effectively locked the investor into the property and ensured it could not be sold to a third party while the case was pending. The Firm deposed the investor and relied on his admissions to defeat summary judgment against our claim for fraud in a real estate transaction. Armed with the threat of punitive damages and with a jury trial approaching, we mediated the matter and settled it for less than our fees would have been at trial.

The settlement secures for our client full ownership of the property, which is now worth several times the original purchase price. Once again, the Firm’s focus on a strategy that best serves our client’s goals paid off.