Case on standby for woman who said Wal-Mart gave her car away
For Marta Velazquez, righting a wrong hasn't been a speedy process.
In her attempt to seek damages from Wal-Mart, who she said gave her car to a man they believed to be her husband, she has been playing the waiting game with the judicial system for two years.
"It's your typical Wal-Mart," Velzquez said. "They are claiming to not be responsible."
Lonnie Knowles, Velazquez's attorney, said since Wal-Mart was first put on notice of the claim, there have been several attempts to contact the corporation, including a written demand on Jan. 2, 2007.
Knowles said when the company wouldn't respond, they filed a lawsuit seeking damage reimbursements of $50,000 in June of 2007, nearly 10 months after the incident.
On Sept. 6, 2006, Velazquez took her 1999 black Pontiac Grand Am to the Wal-Mart on FM 1960 and Cutten Road to have a tire replaced, only to find out they had given her car to a man they thought was her husband. About a month-and-a-half later, it was found, destroyed, in a park in Acres Homes.
The inconvenience caused her to miss work. The house keys, mail and a laptop left in her car enabled one man access to her phone number, which he used to harass her. Fearing for her safety, she broke her apartment lease and moved.
Now awaiting her day in the 133rd Judicial District Court, Vazquez'z case has been on trial stand by since, April 30, meaning that when the court calls them, within two hours notice, lawyers for both sides will need to appear and be ready to pick a jury.
"There are a bunch of trials set to appear in that particular court, so the judge decides what the pecking order of those trials is going to be," Knowles said.
The case likely won't be tried this time around, he said. If not, their case won't come up again for trial for four to six months at which point the standby process will recycle.
"We both indicated it would take no less than two days to try the case, and since the court hasn't called as of 3 p.m. on Thursday, my experience tells me that we likely won't be reached for this docketing period," he said.
Wal-Mart said they couldn't comment on a matter that is currently in litigation.
source: Houston Community Newspapers Online
