The City of Petal has settled for $20,000 regarding a lawsuit in which a Petal couple sued the city and Mayor Hal Marx for breach of contract in what they alleged was the wrongful sale of commercial property at 144 and 148 West Central Avenue.
The decision to settle was made by the Petal Board of Alderman during an executive session on Feb. 2 when board members agreed to pay the funds to Eric and Heather Barnes, who were leasing the property from the city.
Of the $20,000, $10,000 is payable from the city and $10,000 is payable from the city’s liability insurer.
Marx said the city settled because financially, it made more sense to do that rather than pay exorbitant attorney and court fees.
“Unfortunately, that’s the way our system works; we settle some of these cases when I don’t believe there was merit to settle,” he said. “I don’t believe the city did anything wrong, and we upheld everything that we signed on the lease.
“I hate to ever agree to pay anybody any money when I don’t really feel like it’s justified. But when you listen to your lawyer talk about the cost, and your insurance company is willing to help pay to make it go away, that’s usually what happens.”
Documents from Forrest County Circuit Court show that the Barneses entered into a lease option contract with the city on March 15, 2016, for the planned purchase of the building from the city.
Under that agreement, the couple paid $950 a month in rent with the option to buy the building for $106,000.
The agreement also stated the city reserved the right to terminate the lease with the couple upon any appropriate grounds by giving the couple 180 days written notice of its intent to cancel the lease.
After leasing the property, the Barneses opened two businesses at the property: Complete Automotive and Superior Vape.
But in June 2016, the Barneses were told by Petal resident Jimmie Dale Odom that the city had sold the property to him, and Odom ordered the couple to vacate the property immediately. In November 2017, the Barneses filed a motion for summary judgment against the city, alleging breach of contract and wrongful sale of the property.
In June 2018, Heather Barnes testified that she and her husband had repeatedly informed Marx that they planned to purchase the property and invested a large amount of time and money into the building.
She also said that Marx agreed to not sell to anyone else during the one-year lease term.
However, Marx said the city agreed to lease the building to the couple, and if at the end of the year the city still had not sold the building, the Barneses would be welcome to buy it.
During that time, the city continued marketing the building and at one point met with Odom about purchasing the building for $125,000 in addition to the deed for the parcel mentioned in the attached preliminary roadway agreement (pictured below). The city requested access to that property, also owned by Odom, so that they could build a roadway that would connect Central avenue with Hillcrest Loop, where the City sportscomplex is located.
The board of aldermen decided to accept Odom’s offer as the property could be used to build a road straight from Central Avenue to the city’s sportsplex on Hillcrest Loop.
“So, I delivered a letter to the Barnes family,” Marx said. “What really messed things up, as far as the confusion, was Mr. Odom went over to the Barneses before the city had even taken any type of action – we had simply talked with Mr. Odom. But Mr. Odom went and told them he had already bought the building; he told them they were going to have to get out, and this is where the problem started.
“Mr. Odom didn’t speak for the city, but yet the Barneses acted as if he did. They took that as if they city was kicking them out when the lease was up, which is not what we intended to do. We would have made arrangements for them to have their lease fulfilled and all of that.”
Marx said the city did issue the 180-day notice, but the Barneses voluntarily left early and did not approach the board about purchasing the property.
“They based most of their complaint on what Jimmie Dale Odom said and did,” he said. “He doesn’t represent or speak for the city, but they act as if he did.”
However, Eric Barnes said he and his wife did meet with Marx multiple times about purchasing the building, and did not voluntarily vacate the building.
"(We were) given (a notice), yes," Eric Barnes said. "But the mayor showed up with the police and told us we had two weeks very shortly after that."
Odom declined to comment on the matter.
The agreement between the City of Petal and Jimmie Dale Odom for the purchase of 144 & 148 West Central Avenue
Preliminary Roadway agreement for the easement from Central Avenue to Hillcrest.
The Parcel of Land associated with the Preliminary Roadway Agreement.
144 West Central Avenue
148 West Central Avenue
Lease agreement between the city of Petal and the Barnes March 1, 2016
