NL Cypress-CS060222WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2006
Hearings scheduled on North Lake battles
BY STEPHANIE HUTSON Immediately following the
.... -STA~F~RIT~ER-- first hearing, at 3 p.m. in County
The North Lake issue
entered another realm yester-
day when the first of what
promises to be a long line of
hearings was held.
Two hearings are scheduled
for Friday. In the first, at 2:30
p.m. in County Court at Law No.
5 with Judge Mark Greenberg
presiding, the Coppell ISD will
ask the court to enter attorney
Robert Freilich as counsel.
Court at Law No. 3 with Judge
Sally Montgomery, the city of
Coppeil will also ask that
Freilich be allowed to appear os
counsel and that the school dis-
trict's and city's condemnation
petitions be consolidated into
one.
"The advantage of consoli-
dating the petitions into one
court is one of efficiency since
both cases are related to the
same property and involve our
same lawyers, staff and
experts," Mayor Doug Stover
said. "The consolidation motion
still maintains the petitions as
separate c~es, but they will be
held in the same court and at
parallel times."
On Tuesday, Billingsley flied
opposition to Feilich's admit-
tance in both cases, arguing
that he has been engaged in the
unauthorized practice of law in
Texas since March 2005, that his
participation in the creation of
Coppell's Comprehensive Plan
Update makes him a material
fact witness, and that he is
seeking to appear in Texas
courts too frequently.
Freilich is a member of the
California, Missouri, Florida
and New York Barn, but he is
not licensed to practice law in
Texas. In an affidavit by Tod
Edel, co-council for Billingsley,
Edel lists incidences the school
Ssi HEA.qlNGS, Page 8A
Page 8Il' -- Ceppell Gazette -- Wednesday, February 22, 2006 -- www. coppellgazette.com
Continued frem Page lA
board
Hearings scheduled on North Lake battles
"The advantage of consolidating the petitions
· of cf:Ii'
into one court ts one ctencv since both
cases are related to the same properO, and
invoh'e our same lawyers, staff and experts."
and city referenced
Freilicb as "special legal coun-
sel'' and retained him to draft
resolutions, letters and speak at
public meetings.
According to Billingsley's
opposition, Freilich's involve-
ment in the North Lake issue
meets the definition of "practice
of law" under Texas govern-
ment code and case precedent.
"Such blatant disregard for
Texas' prohibition against the
unauthorized practice of law
should not be rewarded by now
admitting Freilich (for this
occasion)," Billingsley's opposi-
According to Biilmgsley's
may also be disqualified if his
- MAYOR DOUG STOVER
testimony is necessary' to estab-
lish an essential fact, and in
condemnation cases the con-
demner's alleged need for the
property is an essential issue.
Billingsiey argues that
Coppell's purported need for
the property is reflected in the
city's Comprehensive Plan
Update, approved by the city
council in December. Freilich
co-authored the update.
"Thus, the creation of the
plan update, a publicly filed
docualent now incorporated
into Coppell's ordinances, goes
to the heart of the case and
makes Freilich a key witness on
essential facts," the opposition
states.
In a third hearing, scheduled
for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday., the
courts will rule on whether the
city of Dallas will be allowed to
take depositions in reference to
the case Dallas filed two sepa
rate petitions in Januaw asking
for perrnission to investigate
the CISD and city of Coppell.
According to the petitions,
Coppeil's plans for the
Billingsley property infringe
upon Dallas' sovereignW and
destroy the city's tax base and
plans for economic deve/np
ment, and the depositions are
important to determiae whether
Dallas has claims agalnsl
Coppell.
"This request ~s not made for
the purpose of harassment but
simply to allow Dallas to make
an expeditious determination as
to whether it has meritorious
claims against Coppell and pos
sibly others," Dallas' petitmn
states.