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NO. DC-15-13993

CITY

OF

DALLAS

Plaintiff,

§

IN THE DISTRICT COURT

§

v

§

§

193RD-L JUDICIAL DISTRICT

§

DENNIS TOPLETZ, ET AL.

Defendant.

§

§ OF

DALLAS COUNTY, TEXAS

DEFENDANT S ORIGINAL

NSWER

NOW

COMES

Defendant Estate

of

Jack Topletz

y

Marvin Levin

s

Independent

Executor one

of

the named Defendants in the above-entitled and numbered cause and files this

Original Answer and shows the Court:

PARTY IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION

The last three numbers

of

the Estate

of

Jack Topletz tax identification number is 653.

OBJECTIONS AND EXCEPTIONS

1

This Defendant objects and specially excepts

to

the allegations contained in Plaintiffs

Original Petition and says that same as

to

this Defendant are too vague indefinite and

uncertain and

do

not properly apprise this Defendant

of

the claim which Plaintiff is

making against this Defendant the specific times and places

of

the incidents

complained and the proof that will

e

offered on trial hereof with certain specificity so

as

to

properly allow your Defendant to determine the exact matter now in existence and

complained

of

as to this Defendant in order to allow Defendant as an individual to

prepare and present a proper defense thereto

of

which special exceptions Defendant

prays judgment

of

the Court.

DALLA

12/28/2015 1

FEL

DISTR

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2) This Defendant objects and specially excepts to Plaintiff's paragraph 18, stating The real

property defendants listed in paragraphs 9-16 are hereinafter collectively referred to as

the Defendant Properties. for the reason that it does not allege that this Defendant has

an interest in all of such properties , but, in fact alleges multiple and various

individual ownerships of each of them, and should be stricken from this petition against

this Defendant,

of

which special exception this Defendant prays judgment

of

the Court.

3) This Defendant objects and specially excepts to Plaintiff's paragraph 19, stating The real

property defendants listed in Exhibit I attached to this Petition are hereinafter

collectively referred to as the Topletz Properties. for the reason that it does not allege

that this Defendant has an interest in all

of

such properties , but, in fact alleges

multiple and various individual ownerships of each of them, and should be stricken

from this petition against this Defendant,

of

which special exception this Defendant

prays judgment

of

the Court.

4 This Defendant objects and specially excepts to Plaintiff's paragraphs 24 through 4

as

to

each and every allegation therein contained in each and every one

of

such allegations

in

each paragraph, as to this Defendant, all of which are too vague, indefinite, uncertain

and global and does not give this Defendant fair, cognizable and adequate notice

of

the

facts andlor causes of action upon which the pleader bases its claim of actions or

inactions by this Defendant, and should be stricken from Plaintiff's pleading, of which

special exception this Defendant prays judgment of the Court.

5 This Defendant objects and specially excepts to Plaintiff's paragraphs 69 and 70 for the

reason that this Defendant is not an occupant

of

any

of

the homes alleged

by

Plaintiff

and the occupants andlor their family members or representatives living

n

the

~ ~ ~ ~

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properties and maintaining it as their homes are not a party to this suit and such relief

would be in violation

of

their Constitutional right

to

privacy without notice, and should

be stricken from Plaintiff's pleading, of which special exception this Defendant prays

judgment of the Court.

F CTS

Background o Topletz Ownership o Residential Rental or Financed Homes

6 In the late 1800's a young man, Solomon Topletz, encouraged by his family, left the

Czarist city ofKretenga, Lithuania

to

make the journey to Texas with little but a desire

to be a part of the a new, free country. He made his way through Galveston traveled up

toward the Indian Country. In Bonham obtained a wagon and horses and supplies and

household goods and proceeded to the new settlements in the new Oklahoma territory

as a drummer [i.e. a salesman on a wagon that beat a drum, etc. to gather a crowd and

then offered his supplies for sale]. After gathering a stake to

o

so, he took a wife in

Bonham and moved

to

Nacogdoches and opened a general merchandise store and

started a family. As his family grew and obtained school age, he decided to move

to

the

growing City of

Dallas. Shortly thereafter he met Fred Florence who was starting a new

banle He opened a bank account and a store near the Courthouse Square. He raised a

family of six and all of his sons served honorably in the service of their country during

wartimes. As the great depression moved in and he observed that many of his

neighbors, customers and others were losing their homes and the banks and mortgage

companies had restricted their lending to only the higher income customers, and were

foreclosing and boarding up homes and offering land and home for sale. In 1909 he

started buying these homes and he hired the unemployed craftsmen in their

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neighborhoods to repair them and offer them for rent or sale at affordable prices. His

business theory being that it was better t provide affordable housing for use to keep

the property available and allow a person that did not want to be warehoused in sharing

an apartment or other accommodations t be able to live in his own home like an owner

and the land ownership in this growing city would take care of the owner. He lived in

south Dallas and much of his purchases and investments were in south Dallas. He was

an owner and taxpayer, not a developer, speculator, real estate manipulator or flipper ,

although he built or financed and helped many homes and churches build and expand in

south and west Dallas where bank or other fmancing was unavailable or unobtainable.

When he died in 1957 many low-income homeowners and renters and their children

that were raised in the homes provided by him paid their respects and thanks t his

family for his thoughtfulness, kindness and generosity. Thereafter the demand

affordable homes for $500.00 a month or less for lower income Dallas residents

continued and his two sons, Harold and Jack, attempted to continue that tradition until

their own deaths.

7

Now, following upon their deaths, the City of Dallas is,

by

its actions, attempting to

displace hundreds of lower income residents of lower taxed properties

by

this action

without their consent and a taking

of

their homes and, in some instances, ownership

interests in their homes without just and lawful compensation. The city is attempting to

explain away its growing drug problems and lack of having or providing sufficient

affordable housing to lower income Dallasites by attacking the only sources

of

affordable housing available in Dallas. Developers, with the unintentional help the

of

the Mayor's Grow South program, have now touched on the low valuation residential

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properties in near south Dallas and other areas in their search to obtain and enhance

inexpensive housing and property to un-affordable for the present residents. Many

policemen, firemen, city workers, mechanics, laborers, construction workers,

secretaries, clerks, school teachers, and hourly workers who have used their hands,

minds and muscles to build our city, all

of

whom work in the City

of

Dallas, must go

out

of

the city limits in order to find affordable crime-free places to live.

GENERAL

DENIAL

8) Without waiving the above objections and exceptions, but still insisting on same, for

Answer, if same is necessary, this Defendant denies each and every allegation

of

Plaintiff s Original Petition, and demands strict

proof

thereof as required by the Texas

Rules

of

Civil Procedure.

DISCLOSURES

9

Pursuant to Tex. R. Civ. P., Rule 194, you are requested to disclose, within thirty (30)

days

of

service

of

this request, the information or material described in Tex.

R.

Civ. P.,

Rules 194.2(a)-(f),

and

Rules 194.2(g),

(h), (i) and I).

PR YER

Defendant prays the Court, after notice and hearing

or

trial, to enter judgment in favor

of

this Defendant, award this Defendant the costs of court, attorney s fees, and such other and

further relief as Defendant

may

be entitled to in law

or

in equity.

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Respectfully submitted,

LEVIN WEINBERG LEVIN

By:

Y l ~

; ; c ? ~ s

Marvin L Levin

Texas Bar No. 12255000

7509 Inwood Road, Suite 300

Dallas, Texas 75209

Tel. (214) 350-7048

Fax (214) 748-7048

Attorney for Defendant

Marvin Levin

CERTIFIC TE OF SERVICE

I certify that on December 2 B ~ 0 1 5 a true and correct copy

of

Defendant's Original

Answer was served y fax on Warren M

S

Ernst, Dallas City Attorney at 1500 Marilla, 7BN,

Dallas, Texas, FAX 214-670-0622.

? 1 ~ ~ ~

Marvin L. Levin