Published Friday, July 10, 2009 6:05 AM
Hot Rod Hill allowed to reopen
By MATTHEW WATKINS
matthew.watkins@theeagle.com
A popular but controversial Brazos County racetrack could reopen after an appeals court overturned a 2005 jury decision that closed it down.
Hot Rod Hill was ordered closed in November 2005 after a Brazos County jury determined that it was a nuisance to a nearby homeowner.
The 10th Court of Appeals on Wednesday overturned the ruling, saying that the plaintiff no longer owned the neighboring property and therefore had no right to continue preventing the track from operating.
The phone line for the racetrack, on Marino Road near Bryan, has been disconnected, and the owner, Wayne Brown, couldn't be reached for comment Thursday, but someone who used to race on the track said the owner had told him that he was working to raise money to reopen it next year.
Brown's lawyer confirmed that plan.
"I am positive that he is going to open it," said the lawyer, Robert Swearingen. "It is just a matter of when."
Residents who might want to fight the reopening have limited legal options, Swearingen said. The statute of limitations for a nuisance lawsuit has passed, but the original plaintiff, Donmichael Triolo, could appeal the decision to the Texas Supreme Court.
Clint Sare, who represented Triolo in the appeal, said that his client hadn't made a decision Thursday about whether to appeal the case further.
He said that another resident who owns property in the area could file suit and get a new injunction once racing starts up again. He said he had talked to other residents, but didn't know whether any had such plans.
"I don't think they have made that determination," he said. "It is not even a day since the opinion came out."
During the 2005 trial, several members of families testified that the track was a nuisance. They said at the time that they contributed time and money to the suit to get the track closed. Some testified that the races were so loud that they couldn't go out to their porches during the events.
"Most of the time, we can't stand it to be out there," one resident testified during the trial. "It's difficult at times to get to sleep until the race is over."
Brown said at the time that he had taken steps to reduce the noise from his track and set an 11 p.m. cut-off time for the races. His lawyers argued that the track was a boon to the economy and should remain open.
The jury ordered Brown to pay Triolo $3,000 in damages and issued a permanent injunction that stopped racing at the site.
Brown appealed the case twice. The first appeal was based on the facts of the case and was rejected. The second appeal argued that the injunction should be lifted because Triolo had sold his home and no longer had a stake in the case.
Triolo disputed the appeal, saying that his parents still lived near the site and that he stayed there every other weekend.
The three-member court of appeals ruled that visiting the house didn't give Brown grounds to keep the injunction in place.
"He does not live at his parents' home, but merely visits on some weekends," Justice Felipe Reyna wrote in his opinion overturning the verdict. "He does not pay taxes or bills associated with the property. The record does not suggest that he believes himself to be an owner of the property."
The $3,000 fine wasn't overturned.
Swearingen described "joy and glee" in the racing community once news of the verdict spread. He said his client's phone was broken and that he couldn't be reached until Thursday, but by the time he contacted him, Brown had already learned the result from ecstatic racers.
"I am really excited about it," said local racer Tommy Garcia. "It gives me a little bit of confidence in our judicial system, and I feel that maybe there is justice after all."
Garcia said Brown's track was the best he has ever raced on and that he looked forward to driving on it again. He also predicted a more homeowner-friendly track in the future.
"[The track] was at one point staying open too late and making a racket, but when he did try to correct the problem, it didn't matter," Garcia said.
Comments
[comment]
15 comment(s) found!
Posted by:
On:
Saturday, July 11, 2009 9:54 AM
Comment Title: To: Quit bickering
That's BS. You have: Brazos Bombers, the new indoor football team, ice-skating, movies, numerous Aggie sports events, bowling, laser tag, and the list goes on. How convenient that you don't live next to the track anymore.
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Posted by:
On:
Friday, July 10, 2009 10:30 PM
Comment Title: Quit bickering
This is probably the only form of entertainment in the Brazos Valley that does not involve going to a bar or night club of some sort. I enjoy going out on occasion, but to have other options is great! Not to mention fun for the entire family. I personally lived next door to this track for a good deal of time and I never made it an issue.
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Posted by:
On:
Friday, July 10, 2009 10:13 PM
Comment Title:
Yea, Wayne, you go. And see if Mike Jones, Big Tex or any other of your "supporters" help you when another jury forces you to shut down again. Think of everything you have put into it again - all for not. To MarionRoadNeighbor, no, you don't have to take it. Start to get your legal ducks in a row. The community heard the evidence before and found rightly the track to be a nuisance. I have no doubt they will again. I have no sympathy for someone who built a track so close to existing houses. He should have known better. Another jury will agree too.
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Posted by:
MarinoRoadNeighbor On:
Friday, July 10, 2009 9:53 PM
Comment Title: Get the facts straight
Hot Rot Hill is located behind Wayne Brown's house, and there are homes on either side. There are homes, long-standing homes, up and down the road, and most of us were here long before the racetrack. Marino Road is NOT an "industrial park." School buses pick kids up and drop them at home every day of the school year. Wayne Brown's older neighbor finally gave up and sold out..but the rest of us are staying. We're homeowners, and we have the right to live in peace. Would you like a racetrack on your street?
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Posted by:
life long racefan On:
Friday, July 10, 2009 9:51 PM
Comment Title: oh please....
ive been around racing all my life and even from the back of the pit area its difficult to hear cars on the track did yall crybabies try to close down the airport too? if your house shakes from miles away....your builder must really suck how much do yall cry over the influx of revenue that comes in from the racers? id bet the aggie band makes more noise than the race track. if the track there before your house was built, why did you move there?
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Posted by:
Mike Jones On:
Friday, July 10, 2009 8:26 PM
Comment Title: Ha Ha Ha
Wayne, You go my man ..........and for all that oppose this you should try it you just may like what you see. Daking
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Posted by:
On:
Friday, July 10, 2009 6:56 PM
Comment Title: Full of it
Big Tex is full of it when he says it was not loud from 1/4 mile away. Other people living that close testified to their walls shaking. I live over 3 miles from the track and could hear it very clearly. I remember every Saturday being ruined by constant noise of the track.
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Posted by:
On:
Friday, July 10, 2009 6:24 PM
Comment Title: Poor little boys
Poor little boys, your playpen was closed by a jury of your peers and a new one didn't open in Edge. Poor little boys, you have to drive to far away towns to play with your expensive toys. I'll be happy and LOL when another injunction and/or another jury again closes your playpen. The owner should think long and hard about spending all his efforts and resources on reopening at the same location - only to see the same outcome as before. There is no more sympathy in the community for this track now than there was at the time of the original decision. If fact, probably less so.
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Posted by:
On:
Friday, July 10, 2009 5:29 PM
Comment Title: Come On Folks!!!
This is a place for the whole family to be entertained!!!!!!! I think we could use alot more of that in this twin city area. So thats right, keep fighting homeowners, the ones griping have probably been to some of the races there. Get Over It!!!!!!!!!!
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Posted by:
Big Tex On:
Friday, July 10, 2009 1:27 PM
Comment Title: You want noise?
I know noise buddy! Even better than a Jet Propulsion Lab, I had F-16s taking off 1 deck above me on the USS Nimitz and Out my Barraks window 50 Yards from the end of the runway in Guantanamo Bay. I know noise buddy. You can't compare it! Our local Trains are louder and sometimes for longer periods. Like I said, Get a grip or a life. Whatever.
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Posted by:
Marie On:
Friday, July 10, 2009 12:20 PM
Comment Title: Keep fighting
Homeowners should not have to be forced to listen to the noise at the racetrack. They have rights which include being able to sit out in their yards without the excess noise and eating dust from the racetrack. Keep fighting for your rights homeowners!
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Posted by:
On:
Friday, July 10, 2009 12:01 PM
Comment Title:
For you Big Tex, I could only hope they open a jet propulsion lab near you so you can be happy. My only issue is who was there first, the houses or the track. If you move next to a track, your problem, if track opens next to house vise versa.
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Posted by:
Big Tex On:
Friday, July 10, 2009 9:36 AM
Comment Title: Bunch of Baby's
Oh come on for cryin out loud. Some of you people just want to complain about something. I live closer than most (1/4 mile) and it was never a problem. Could I hear them? Sure. Was it loud? NO!! All that land is in a commercial industrial park. You got to expect a little noise. Come on people get a grip. You would think you lived in Obamaville.
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Posted by:
WatchingInBryan On:
Friday, July 10, 2009 9:13 AM
Comment Title: noise
I live in Allen Forest and could hear the races in my living room when they were occuring at Hot Rod Hill. I had a lot of sympathy for the people who live so much closer.
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Posted by:
On:
Friday, July 10, 2009 8:14 AM
Comment Title:
New property owner has got to be happy! Wonder if prior owner disclosed this information.
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