KINGWOOD — A Kingwood couple wants a judge to dismiss the latest lawsuit against it over an alley way and to bar the plaintiffs from suing again.
Dick and Iris Shaffer filed suit against Robert and Robin Goodwin in Preston Circuit Court in January. It is the third court action filed by the Shaffers. They dismissed one suit voluntarily, and the court found for the Goodwins in the other actions.
Recently, the Goodwins’ attorney, Kevin Tipton, filed a reply to the suit. It asks that the judge dismiss the complaint and award them attorney fees, “for having to defend this frivolous lawsuit; that the plaintiffs be enjoined from bringing any further legal action in this regard ….”
As previously reported, in 2016 the Shaffers sued the Goodwins, saying a fence the latter built alongside an alley between their properties kept them 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 had sought an injunction to force removal of the fence. The court ruled for the Goodwins.
The 2016 suit asked the court to award the Shaffers “exclusive right and possession of the alley way.” The Goodwins argued that the claim was barred by the statute of limitations and said they did not breach any lawful duties to their neighbors.
The Goodwins installed a gate where the alley meets Tunnelton Street. They said this came about because another neighbor dumped soil on their land, during construction by that neighbor.
While those legal actions were in the court, Dick Shaffer, a member of Kingwood Council, had to leave the room when building permits or other matters related to the fence construction were discussed by council.
The latest suit said not only have the Goodwins put a gate on the alley, but they erected a building that “further blocks the [Shaffers’] use of the alley.”
In their response, the Goodwins say among other defenses that the claim is barred by the statute of limitations, the damages claimed by the Shaffers “were not the proximate result of any acts or omissions on the part of the” defendants, they breached no duty at law, and there was “insufficient process and improper service of process.”
The Shaffers have lived at their Tunnelton Street address since 1973. The Goodwins moved onto the street in 1999, according to the suit. The Shaffers said that because the alley is blocked, they are forced to park on the street.
