District judge issues default judgment for City of Breckenridge against City Commissioner Akers in dispute over dog park fence
By Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan
Phillip Gregory, 90th Judicial District Judge, ruled in favor of the City of Breckenridge this morning, Oct. 2, granting the City’s request for a default judgment against local businessman Greg Akers, who is also a City Commissioner, in a case involving a dispute over an agreement to build a fence for a proposed dog park.
Attorney Timothy Dunn, representing the Messer Fort law firm, was in the Stephens County Courtroom this morning for the City.
With no one representing the defendant in the courtroom, Gregory instructed bailiff Brian McBride to go into the hallway and call out three times for Akers; if Akers was not present, McBride was to call out for three times for anyone representing Akers. After completing the task, McBride returned to the courtroom and reported to the judge that no one responded.
Dunn then presented the City’s request to the judge, who order Akers to pay the City more than $13,000. Specifically, the judgment is for the following amounts:
- Actual damages of $6,076.24
- Prejudgment interest in the amount of $62.43
- Postjudgment interest at the rate of 7.5 percent
- Court costs
- Attorney fees in the amount of $6,955 through proceedings in the trial court. Additionally, Akers must pay $5,000 in the event of an unsuccessful appeal to the Court of Appeals, $2,500 in the event of a Petition for Review to the Texas Supreme Court if the City prevails; $5,000 in the event of briefing on the merits in the Texas Supreme Court if the City prevails, and $3,000 in the event of an oral argument in the Texas Supreme Court in which the City prevails.
After the ruling, Dunn declined to comment to the Breckenridge Texan.
The case involves a proposed dog park that the City plans to build for local citizens, offering them a place to let their dogs run and play in a contained area. The park is planned for a lot owned by the City that is between Elliott and Gaddis streets and between Robert and Dunnigan avenues. It is southwest of the City Park and northwest of Booker T. Washington Park.
In early 2024, the City accepted a bid from Akers, who was not a city commissioner at that time, to build a fence for the dog park. Later that year, he was elected to the commission for a second time and continues to serve on the commission now.
According to court documents, Akers was to install the fence for a fee of $24,304.94. Akers’ invoice stipulated that 60 percent of the total – $14,582.97 – needed to be paid in advance in order for Akers and his employees to begin work on the project, and the remainder – $9,721.97 – to be paid upon completion. A handwritten notation on the invoice indicates that on April 30, 2024, a check for $6,076.24 – 25 percent of the total invoice – was paid.
In the original complaint, the City says that Akers agreed to accept the 25 percent by cashing the check. In a phone call last month, Akers said he never agreed to accept 25 percent of the bill and that he expected the remaining $8,506.73 of the required advance to be paid before he started to work on the project.
According to court documents, no response to the original complaint was filed by Akers or anyone representing him.
Click here to download the 4-page default judgment filed by the court today.
Click the following link to read the Breckenridge Texan’s original article about the case: City of Breckenridge dog park in limbo following lawsuit against Commissioner Akers over fence construction
