A Moldy Conclusion

Inside The Woodlands: Church ready to rebuild sanctuary

State Senate candidate, Joe Nixon's most infamous court case is getting a bit of closure. Oak Ridge Baptist Church, in Spring, is beginning work on a new sanctuary. Since Carissa Mire is covering this from the Chron's Woodlands blog, I'm assuming the new digs will be in Montgomery county. The link to the church's website is also pointing to a Network Solutions renewal page, so there's no help there.

The Joe Nixon reference comes into play with regards to why the original church was torn down and also a bit on why it took so long to rebuild:

The lawsuit was about 10 months old and had been through mediation last November when Nixon's name first appeared on a paper filing.

The lead lawyer for the insurance company was Brock Akers of Phillips & Akers, and much of the work had been done by a capable partner in the firm, David Edwards.

When the church's attorney, Fred Hagans, saw Nixon's name on the pleading, a red flag went up. Was the state representative being brought in for the purpose of filing a "legislative continuance"?

This is a lawmakers' privilege that has grown notorious over the years. Under the law, if a legislator who is an attorney requests it, a judge must reschedule any trial set to take place during a legislative session or 30 days on either side of the session.

The legislator/lawyer has to sign an affidavit swearing that he or she was hired for the sole purpose of seeking a continuance, but many legislator/lawyers have creative consciences.

This can be a lucrative source of income for legislators. Informed guesses (they do not have to report this income) estimate the price of a legislative continuance ranges from $10,000 to $30,000.

The church's trial was set for February, right after the legislative session was to begin, so Hagans wrote a letter asking Akers if the appearance of Nixon's name on the filing meant the firm would seek a continuance.

"They didn't respond," Hagans said. "Sometime in late January they asked for a continuance. Nixon's first personal appearance was at that hearing.

"The firm has had four attorneys working on this case, and Joe Nixon has done the absolute least," said Hagans.

He said Nixon made an argument at one hearing and attended two depositions.

"At one he paid bills and at the other he read the newspaper," he said.

The unfortunate news is that the church witnessed a membership drop from 2000 to 228 after the foot-dragging and delaying brought on by a law firm who violated a constitutional right by bringing in a lawyer for the sole purpose of delaying a speedy trial. It's only further irony that, as a State Rep., Nixon is on record as stating that mold claims are overblown and the problem is essentially a myth. Ironic because Joe has pocketed $300,000 for mold remediation on his own home worth less than $300,000. Just another form of having one's cake and eating it too. Curious if any of the church leaders of Oak Ridge might be interested in shooting a TV ad for any of Nixon's challengers in the State Senate race.