BOLIVAR PENINSULA, Texas — A lawsuit accuses the county and its debris-removal contractors of improperly demolishing a custom-built beach house, which Hurricane Ike deposited a half mile inland of it original site.
More than 50 years ago, the father of Thomas Sachitano and Shelby Rabalais, of Beaumont, and Kathryn McCann, of Colleyville, built a Crystal Beach cabin at 901 Sanddollar, the plaintiffs’ attorney, Jessica L. Hallmark, said.
When Hurricane Ike made landfall Sept. 13, 2008, it caused severe flooding and damaged much of the Upper Texas Coast.
The surged measured at least 10 feet in Crystal Beach, and the county reported 3,600 structures were swept from foundations. Many houses were turned into splinters.
At least nine peninsula residents drowned in the storm, having been swept away in debris fields that stretched into Chambers County. The Laura Recovery Center still lists three people missing from Port Bolivar, Crystal Beach and Gilchrist.
Some survivors told The Daily News they clung overnight to anything that would float, including wooden staircases of destroyed beach houses.
Some beach houses floated intact across state Highway 87. The plaintiffs claim their father’s house was among them. It landed in a field near a tiki bar, Hallmark said.
The family called the county, saying they intended to have it moved back, the lawsuit claims. The county told the family the house had to be inspected and two engineers found the house structurally sound and able to be moved, the lawsuit claims.
The family put their contact information on the house. The mover did the same, but a few days later, the house was destroyed, Hallmark said.
"The fact of the matter is these people complied with what the county told them to do," Hallmark said. "No one ever said they had to move it in an amount of time or they’re going to destroy it. There was no notice. No nothing. Just gone."
The lawsuit names as defendants Galveston County, CrowderGulf, of Theodore, Ala.; Beck Disaster Recovery, of Seattle; and Tri-Rivers Logging, of Cameron, Mo.
Officials with the county and CrowderGulf declined to comment on the matter, saying they hadn’t seen the lawsuit. Attempts to reach Beck Disaster Recovery and Tri-Rivers Logging were unsuccessful.
"They tried to work with the county for a long time, sent letter after letter to try to resolve this," Hallmark said. "They had no choice but to hire a lawyer."
The lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in Galveston’s 10th District Court, doesn’t mention a damage amount sought.
