Tales from No Zoning

Bier Haus vs. Condos, round 1: Court says leave each other alone

Warring Rice Village neighbors got their day in court on Wednesday. After a history of harrassment, relations between Hans' Bier Haus owners and patrons and the residents next door at the 2520 Robinhood condos hit a fever pitch in December. After a three-hour hearing, judge Patricia Hancock granted the temporary injunction sought by Hans' Bier Haus owners Bill Cave and Paul Kellogg, but stipulated that the injunction would be mutual, barring both sides from entering the other's premises and admonishing them to "stay out of each others' face until we have a permanent injunction."

Cave and Kellogg have also filed a lawsuit against the condominium association, the management company and three residents, Robert Souders, Mark Theusen and Richard Booker.

Testimony in the injunction hearing, as reported by InstantNewsWestU.com reporter Angela Grant, included a lot of what has already been reported, plus a few new juicy details. Cave answered questions from his lawyer about the events of Dec. 13, when a hose from the condo building soaked Hans' patio during a live music set, causing destruction and mayhem. “I was fearful. I was fearful for the band, my customers. The water was everywhere,” Cave testified.

Cave admitted he dragged concierge Reggie McGowan by his necktie to the elevator in an attempt to get the water turned off, for which he is facing separate assault charges. However the concierge McGowan's testimony was not entirely helpful to the condo defendants. After telling how he feared that Cave "was forcing me to the roof to pitch me off the roof," McGowan said once he understood what Cave wanted, “I said 'Oh, I understand. I can take care of that.' I had already picked up the hose Wednesday morning of that week.”

Adding a new twist to the story was former condo employee Alton Smith, who was fired two days after the incident after run-ins with Theusen and Booker, who are both on the condo association's board of directors, which has the power to make personnel decisions. Smith testified that he had seen the hose positioned to douse the Bier Haus at least twice before the incident, and that after his dismissal he told Cave and Kellogg all he knew about who was responsible.

Defendants' attorney Gary DeSerio added some fireworks of his own, at one point accidentally knocking a pitcher of water over in front of the judge and repeatedly bringing up bad acts such as noise violations by the bar when cross-examining Cave, Smith and questioning his own witnesses, though opposing attorney Kenneth Ward objected that the allegations lacked relevance and Judge Hancock agreed. The injunction bars the entire condo assoiation, condo owners and renters from throwing any item or water on the bar.

Dates for the permanent injunction hearing and lawsuit have not been released.

[via Swamplot]

unspecified

Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

undefined

Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”