The Alexander family claims Precise Custom Homes illegally seized their property and built a new duplex over it.
AUSTIN, Texas —
A Central Texas family is escalating its legal battle to reclaim property in East Austin that they claim was unlawfully seized and demolished by a local developer.
The Alexander family filed a 142-page lawsuit in early July against Precise Custom Homes and its president, Danny Olivarez, alleging Olivarez wrongfully took possession of their longtime family home at 118 Kimble Lane and demolished it without consent. The suit seeks a court declaration affirming the Alexanders as the rightful owners, as well as monetary damages between $250,000 and $1 million.
The property, which belonged to the family’s late grandmother, Julia Alexander, has been at the center of a dispute since 2024, when family members discovered their childhood home had been replaced by a new duplex. Public records from the Travis Central Appraisal District list Julia Alexander and her son, Charles Alexander, as the owners of 118 Kimble Lane. Olivarez owns the adjacent property at 120 Kimble Lane, according to county records.
“It’s a lot of history right there. This is family. This is our property,” Roscoe Daniel, a member of the Alexander family told KVUE in May.
The lawsuit claims: “Defendants committed trespass to real property by unlawfully entering and occupying the property. Without consent or legal authority, defendants demolished the residence.”
Attorney Rekha Roarty represents the Alexander family.
“I thought I was misunderstanding it when people first started telling me about it because I was like, ‘There’s no way this builder just comes and knocks down someone else’s lot that had a house on there that someone was living on and starts building,'” Roarty said.
But Roarty said that’s exactly what happened.
According to the lawsuit, Travis Central Appraisal District (TCAD) records show Olivarez owns 120 Kimble Lane, the property next door to the Alexanders’. TCAD records also show 118 Kimble Lane is still in Julia Alexander’s name and in the name of her son, Charles Alexander. Before the lawsuit was filed, Roarty sent Olivarez a demand letter, asking for “evidence showing something to the contrary.” In May, the KVUE Defenders also asked Olivarez for the same, reaching out several times.
“118 is our question. The appraisal district says that Julia Alexander owns it. Why did they decide they can develop on it? Why did they decide they could destroy the property on it?” Roarty asked.
KVUE reached out to the city of Austin’s Development Services Department, the division that approved Olivarez’s demolition permit. We wanted to know how Olivarez was able to get the demolition and construction permits and whether it verified the documents he used were authentic. Spokesperson Maggie Holman declined our request for an on-camera interview.
She wrote in an email, “The developer provided a Special Warranty Deed dated December 23, 2023. The Deed addressed both parcels, which establishes ownership at a level of confidence that does not require comparison with county documents.”
KVUE looked through Olivarez’s demolition permit application. We found a survey plat that combined the two lots under 120 Kimble Lane. It included the Alexander home on the property.
“The big outstanding question is: When did 118 Kimble Lane also become part of 120 Kimble Lane? There’s no clear answer to that,” Roarty said.
Kelly Alexander has mixed feelings.
“I feel great about the progress but at the time and even up to this day, it’s frustrating – it’s upsetting – to have something stolen from you especially without a rightful cause,” Alexander said.
The Alexanders are asking the court to declare them the rightful owners of the property. According to the lawsuit, the Alexanders suffered the loss of not only their family’s property but irreplaceable belongings and family heirlooms, as well.