Kaufman County Tag Archives

Published on: April 3, 2019

Kaufman County Real Estate Litigation

Kaufman County is in the midst of a historic residential construction boom. Anyone driving through Forney, Terrell, Kaufman or Crandall will attest to this fact. Neighborhoods are popping up, seemingly, overnight. With that, developers, builders and individual home buyers and sellers are seeing an equal rise in the number of real estate disputes.

In our office, the main issues seem to be with individual home builders performing substandard work or failing to complete the construction of new homes. This can create quite the mess for home buyers who took out construction loans and are now paying their current mortgage, on top of the interest on their construction loan. On top of that, due to shoddy construction practices, they are having to pay additional amounts out of pocket, or reworking loans, in order to have their homes completed. With that, Texas provides certain protections under the RCLA (Residential Construction Liability Act) which protects homeowners in the event that a home builder performs defective or substandard work on a new home. Homeowners are also having issues with eminent domain. Eminent domain/condemnation proceedings have been instituted against several landowners in the last few years for rights of way and easements for utility companies and roadways through TxDot. If you face condemnation for all or part of your property, you need to consult with the attorneys at Guest and Gray. We have successfully negotiated and tried condemnation cases for families and businesses across Kaufman County and East Texas.

For developers, we are seeing issues related to re-zoning and zoning variances, land-purchase disputes, disclosure issues and right of way and easement issues. Many of these issues may be addressed in Court through specific performance, declaratory judgment or a breach of contract case.

Published on: April 1, 2019

Breach of Contract Cases and Related Defenses

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Guest and Gray Law Firm has handled hundreds of breach of contract and related civil litigation matters for Kaufman, Dallas and Rockwall County clients, with great success and efficiency.

Hiring counsel that understands that complexities of civil litigation and the necessity of doing things right the first time in order to obtain the best possible results for our clients.

In the vast majority of cases, people enter into contracts expecting to hold up their end of the bargain. Life, and business, have a way of altering performance in the real world. Whether you are a breach of contract Plaintiff or Defendant, you need counsel that can properly present your case before a judge and jury.

Published on: March 7, 2019

Terrell Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Attorneys

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Guest and Gray is Kaufman County’s trusted personal injury and wrongful death law firm. We are proud to serve all areas of Kaufman county, including Terrell, Wills Point, Forney, Kaufman, Kemp, and Crandall, and everywhere in between.

Terrell is Kaufman County’s Budding Business and Recreational Hub

If Forney is the residential complex of Kaufman County, Terrell is its business and recreational hub, and Terrell’s housing market is on the rise. What does this mean for Terrell? People on the roadways. As more businesses and people move into town, Terrell is going to see an uptick in personal injury and wrongful death cases. The numbers simply go hat-in-hand with one another. The bigger the city, the more accidents and deaths related to motor vehicle travel.

Published on: February 20, 2019

Northeast Texas Eminent Domain Lawyers: What Constitutes a “Public Use”?

by Robert Guest

Guest and Gray, P.C. is the advocate of choice for landowners from Kaufman county, Rockwall county and Hunt county. We service all areas of Northeast Texas, from Forney to Farmersville, Greenville to Terrell, and all outlying areas of East and Northeast Texas. We have a 100% success rate in obtaining additional compensation for our clients who face condemnation by a condemning authority. Our goal is to fight for the rights of landowners against the unfair process of eminent domain.

In all condemnation proceedings, there are two things that the government, or their authorized entity, such as a water district or electricity provider, must demonstrate: that the taking is for a “public use”, and they must pay the landowner “just compensation”.

These are hard and fast rules, but what exactly constitutes a “public use” and “just compensation” can be a bit of a mystery.

Published on: February 4, 2019

Kaufman and Rockwall County Motorcycle Accident Attorneys

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Guest and Gray has represented countless victims after suffering horrific injuries in motorcycle accident cases. If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident in the Rockwall and Kaufman County areas as a result of someone else’s negligence, you need to call the experienced motorcycle attorneys at Guest and Gray Law Firm. We have helped injured victims from Rockwall, Fate, Royse City, Forney, Terrell, Kaufman and everywhere in between in the Rockwall and Kaufman County areas.

Our knowledgeable staff will help you through the whole process, including making initial insurance claims, preparing the file by obtaining all relevant medical records and billing, as well as any lost wage information. We will help coordinate your rehab treatments and work with providers to ensure payment of providers claims once settlement dollars are received.

Our goal is to make the process as seamless and hassle-free as possible. Motorcycle accidents can take months, even years to recover from, and we work hard to ensure that any and all recovery is received as a result of your pain and suffering and mental anguish. We will prepare all necessary demands and court documents and we are prepared to take your case all the way to trial, if necessary.

Published on: January 23, 2019

Kaufman County’s Trusted Real Estate Attorneys

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Guest and Gray has been a fixture of Kaufman county for years. We are the largest and highest reviewed law firm in Kaufman county for a reason. We put our clients needs first. That is why more people choose Guest and Gray than any other law firm in Kaufman county. Period.

We have a team of attorneys with various areas of practice. Need a family law attorney? We have that. Need a criminal defense attorney? Yeah, we can do that. Personal Injury? Check.

Real estate law? You better believe it. We have real estate attorneys who know and understand the Kaufman county real estate market, home trends, and legal issues to watch out for, whether it be a residential or commercial property. David HagEstad, a member of our real estate law team, actually sold real estate in the Kaufman county area prior to practicing law. His knowledge of the real estate market and connections to the real estate community, as well as his knowledge of real estate law are a real commodity to our clients.

Published on: December 27, 2018

Rockwall: Big Houses, The Lake and Traffic

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Rockwall is known for a lot of things. Everyone knows that Rockwall is usually acclaimed to be the Wealthiest County in Texas. Although there are short periods, often during oil booms, that Rockwall is unseated from that throne, Rockwall is always near the top. Why? Because it is close to Dallas and other major business hubs, and it is located in a beautiful area overlooking Lake Ray Hubbard. People like that.

Rockwall is also known for Lake Ray Hubbard. A great lake for catching bass and perch. Occasionally, you will hear of reports of an Alligator swimming around. We live in North East Texas. It happens. The lake has drawn a lot of people and retail shopping to the Rockwall area. Theoretically, it is easy to get to Rockwall with access from I-30, the tollway, Highway 67, Highway 205, you name it. The problem is the third main thing that Rockwall is known for: Traffic.

ROCKWALL TRAFFIC IS NOTORIOUS

Published on: December 17, 2018

Dog Bites Are The Worst: An Overview of Texas Law on Dog Attacks

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Ever been bitten by a dog? It is not very much fun. The personal injury lawyers at Guest and Gray Law Firm are keenly aware of this fact. Over the years, Guest and Gray Law Firm has helped victims of dog bites recover top dollar against negligent dog owners.

For the most part, dogs are man’s best friend. Not like those useless cats that just lay around the house and look at you in disgust. Dogs are sweet and caring and love you unconditionally. However, dogs have it in their system the capacity to become dangerous. Certain breeds more-so than others. Pit Bulls, Bull Dogs, and Rottweilers are some of the main dog breeds that people associate with a dangerous capacity to injure people.

However, in Texas, you really cannot just use a dog’s breed as a means of proving your dog bite case. It must be dog specific. This is a good and bad thing. Texas does not have a statute that covers civil liability for dog bites. Rather, in Marshall v. Ranne, 511 SW 2d 255 (Tex. S.C. 1974) the Texas Supreme Court adopted the view of dog bite law contained in the Restatement of Torts section 509. That means Texas is a “negligence” or “one bite rule” when it comes to dog bites. In order to recover damages for a dog bite, the injured person must show that:

Published on: December 12, 2018

Kaufman County Personal Injury Lawyers

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Guest and Gray is Kaufman County’s premier personal injury law firm. Our team of experienced personal injury lawyers and knowledgeable staff work hard on a daily basis to fight for the rights of Kaufman county’s injured accident victims.

As Kaufman county continues to grow at a record pace, Guest and Gray has been here since the beginning. We have recovered millions of dollars over the years for local Kaufman county residents after they have been injured in automobile, motorcycle, trucking accidents, dog bites, and many other types of injury cases. We work closely with providers, health insurance companies and the at-fault insurance carriers to maximize our client’s recovery in each case.

Our attorneys take each Kaufman County personal injury case on contingency. That means that we take on the risk and you pay nothing unless we win your case. Our personal injury lawyers are ready to take your case all the way to trial, if necessary.

Published on: December 7, 2018

Guest and Gray: Local. Client Driven. Results Oriented

by Robert Guest

Guest and Gray Law Firm is Kaufman and Rockwall county’s trusted, local personal injury law firm. We are a client driven and results oriented personal injury law firm. Our personal injury team is dedicated to serving the needs of the injured. Our personal injury practice is diverse, spanning from automobile accidents and 18-wheeler wrecks to dog attacks and beyond. No matter the case, our experienced attorneys and knowledgeable staff are prepared to take on the at-fault party and their insurance company.

We are a Local Firm, Dedicated to our Local Community.

We are not a big name Dallas law firm. We like it that way. We don’t have call centers full of assistants. We don’t have claims specialists running your case. We have lawyers dedicated to each matter who personally reviews your case and handles the negotiations with the at-fault party and their insurer. If you call our office, you can speak to your attorney, not their assistant or a claims specialist. Our staff is trained to handle the needs of each case. We do it this way not because we can’t do what those guys in Dallas do. We do it this way because we want to provide the best possible service to our local community. Our main office is in Forney, Texas. We also have an office in Rockwall to serve Rockwall county clients. This is where we are from. Scott Gray, one of our founding partners, graduated from Forney High School. David HagEstad, our personal injury associate graduated from Crandall High School. Most of our staff and assistants are local and grew up in the Kaufman county area. We believe in staying local and serving the community where we grew up. We believe this makes us uniquely capable of serving this area because, well, we know the area. We know what areas are particularly dangerous for drivers and where the majority of accidents occur. We know why. We know that Kaufman county and Rockwall county are experiencing unprecedented growth and that the increased traffic in areas like Rockwall, Forney and Terrell are leading to more accidents. We know that Terrell’s commercial growth will lead to more truck accidents and Forney’s residential growth will lead to more injury accidents involving passenger vehicles.