City of Colleyville Pays $1.37 Million After Total Court Loss

Attorney: “This Was a Self-Inflicted Disaster”

COLLEYVILLE, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The City of Colleyville has now paid $1,368,405.37 to general contractor Mart, Inc., fully resolving a construction dispute over the City of Colleyville Senior Center renovations that ended in a decisive appellate loss for the city and a complete victory for the contractor. The payment, which is payment in full, covers the principal amount owed, accrued interest, and Mart’s attorney’s fees.

“This case is over, and Colleyville lost at every meaningful level,” said Stephen W. Davis, of Cook Keith & Davis, attorney for Mart, Inc. “The City didn’t just lose in court — it lost the moment it chose ego and an inexplicable legal strategy over accountability.”

The payout follows a published opinion from the Second Court of Appeals, which ruled that Colleyville’s $5,000-per-day charge against Mart was not legitimate damages but an illegal penalty with no rational basis. After years of litigation, the City quietly paid the full amount owed.

“This was never about defective work,” said Tim Proctor, President of Mart, Inc. and Colleyville resident. “Mart delivered first-class renovations.” The mayor of Colleyville, Bobby Lindamood, even praised the work performed by Mart in a Facebook post on the City of Colleyville Facebook page.

“The delays were caused by the city’s own broken plans and mismanagement — and the court saw straight through it,” said Davis.

Instead of fixing its mistakes, city officials pursued what Davis called “a scorched-earth legal strategy that was pure folly,” forcing taxpayers to fund a losing legal fight. "The city's lawyers, Mart's lawyers, and Mart won, and the Colleyville taxpayers footed the entire bill, including attorney’s fees that should have been unnecessary," said Davis.

“Colleyville spent hundreds of thousands of dollars paying its own lawyers to defend the indefensible. Then, after losing, it had to pay Mart’s lawyers too — plus interest. That is what happens when a city refuses to admit it’s wrong.”

According to Davis, the entire loss was avoidable.

“This wasn’t a close call. This wasn’t a gray area,” he said. “The trial court and the appellate court said the city’s so-called damages were a sham. Once that opinion came down, the city had no choice but to pay.”

Davis said the city’s residents deserve answers.

“Every extra dollar beyond the principal amount owed came from taxpayers,” he said “People should be asking: who approved this strategy, who kept doubling down, and why did it take two court losses to end it?”

The city has now paid in full, and the case is closed.

“There’s no appeal left. There’s no dispute left,” Davis said. “The scoreboard is final — Mart wins, Colleyville pays.”