KINGWOOD — Only two witnesses were called Thursday in a Kingwood councilman’s lawsuit trying to regain access to an alley by his home.
Preston Circuit Judge Steve Shaffer set another hearing for Oct. 10 so other witnesses can be heard on the motion for summary judgment filed by Councilman Dick Shaffer and his wife, Iris.
This is the third court action filed by the Shaffers in this matter. In 2016, they sued neighbors Robert and Robin Goodwin, saying a fence the latter couple built alongside an alley between their properties kept the Shaffers from using the land to access the rear of their property, which they had done for years. In May 2017, the Shaffers voluntarily dismissed the case.
In 2015, the Shaffers sought an injunction to force removal of the fence. The court ruled for the Goodwins. The current action was filed in 2018.
On Thursday, Dick Shaffer testified he used the alley from the time he and his wife bought the property in 1973 until the dispute arose.
Shaffer said he maintained the alley with gravel, always had one or more vehicles parked there and used it to take coal to the back of the house for the furnace. “Far as I knew, I owned it,” he said.
Kevin Tipton, attorney for the Goodwins, said it was “convenient” that the people who owned their property prior to 1999, the Fretwells, are dead and can’t say whether they ever gave Shaffer permission to use the alley.
Shaffer objected that he is “a God fearing man” and wouldn’t use someone’s death to his advantage.
Shaffer also disagreed with Tipton over whether he always excused himself from discussions in city council on whether the Goodwins should be granted building permits for the fence. Tipton presented a statement from former Mayor Jim Lobb, saying Shaffer asked him to request that the fence be moved.
Former Kingwood mayor and lifetime Kingwood resident Curtis Stiles testified he recalled seeing vehicles owned by the Shaffers in the alley from the time he was a child walking by on the way to school.
Kevin Turnbull, who is attorney for the Shaffers, said he expects to call five or six more witnesses when the hearing resumes. Tipton said the Goodwins will have at least three.
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