Home > Waco Breaking News > Archives > 2008 > June > 17 > Entry
Archaeological firm sues city over cemetery termination
PHOTOS
This in from veteran Trib courthouse reporter Tommy Witherspoon:
A Lampasas archaeological firm fired from a job excavating human bones for an expansion project behind the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against the city of Waco.
The American Archaeology Group also is asking Judge Jim Meyer through a declaratory judgment motion to determine if the Texas Historical Commission had grounds to cancel its work permit and if, by issuing an identical permit to another company, the commission properly canceled AAG’s permit.
The lawsuit, filed in Waco’s 170th State District Court, seeks unspecified damages and names the city of Waco as a defendant. It also names the Texas Historical Commission and Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan (PBS&J) as declaratory judgment defendants, or parties with an interest in the dispute.
Tomball attorney Rick A. Eckerson, who represents AAG, said the firm was required by statute to name PBS&J, an Austin firm that was hired in AAG’s place, as a declaratory judgment defendant because the latter firm is an interested party.
“While the city of Waco may dispute the facts in the petition, AAG is confident that when everyone is deposed under oath and the truth comes out, AAG will be fully vindicated,” Eckerson said.
Waco City Attorney Leah Hayes said through a city spokesman that the city denies all charges and will vigorously defend the suit. James Bruseth, the Texas Historical Commission official overseeing the project, deferred comment on the lawsuit to the attorney general’s office, which represents state agencies. A spokesman with that office didn’t return phone calls Tuesday. Messages left at PBS&J in Austin also were not returned.
The lawsuit alleges the city of Waco, which sponsors the museum, had no grounds to terminate a $437,000 contract with AAG to relocate human remains from the site, a former burial ground.
For much, much more on this story, pick up a copy of Wednesday’s Tribune-Herald.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Headlines
Comments
By Fred
June 17, 2008 9:57 PM | Link to this
That Lampasas company isn’t the only ones who need to SUE the City of Waco. The City of Waco intentionally ran “sewer lines” thru the graves of Wacoans knowing that Wacoans were buried there. This is CRIMINAL on the part of the City of Waco. In the State of Texas Penal Code it’s called “Abuse of a Corpse”.
By EyeRoll
June 18, 2008 1:33 AM | Link to this
Fred I seen few people as bitter as you. Gotta suck to be you.