Eric Springstun & The Wharf — Galveston County Cause 24-CV-0102

Court: 122nd Judicial District Court, Galveston County, Texas

Cause: 24-CV-0102

Appellate record reflected on this page: First Court of Appeals No. 01-26-00448-CV

Case overview

The Galveston County clerk record identifies this matter as The Wharf at Clear Lake Slip Maintenance Association, Inc. v. Eric Springstun. The case was filed January 22, 2024. Eric Springstun filed an answer, jury demand, and counterclaims in June 2024.

Who filed the case

The Association was the plaintiff in the original Galveston action and Eric Springstun was the named defendant. That procedural origin matters when the case is reduced to a short docket label or search result.

Pre-purchase A/R records and the April 2023 deed

Eric Springstun’s appellate exhibits include Association A/R Aging Reports from before the purchase of Dock 17, Slip 14. In a filed unsworn declaration under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Chapter 132, Springstun authenticated those reports and stated that they did not show dues owed for the purchased property before he acquired it.

The exhibit index identifies the recorded deed as filed on April 17, 2023. The same appellate record identifies an Association lien against the prior owner, Jared Waring, filed on April 28, 2023—after Springstun’s deed date.

That chronology became central to Springstun’s position that the later collection history should be examined against the Association’s contemporaneous accounting records and the deed timeline.

From a $1,729.38 collection claim to $94,221.20 in trial attorney’s fees

The appellate exhibit record identifies the Association’s June 17, 2024 First Amended Petition as pursuing approximately $1,729.38. After later proceedings and a jury trial, the February 17, 2026 Final Judgment awarded $1,886.36 in personal assessment damages against Eric Springstun and $94,221.20 in attorney’s fees through trial.

The judgment also included separate lien-secured amounts against the property, prejudgment interest, court costs, conditional appellate fees, post-judgment interest, foreclosure, and an order of sale.

Why proportionality is part of the public record

WharfClearLake.com does not claim that a large attorney-fee award is legally erroneous merely because the underlying assessment amount was much smaller. It presents the numbers because the relationship between the underlying damages and the litigation exposure is part of the documented history owners and readers may evaluate for themselves.

February 17, 2026 final judgment

Cause 24-CV-0102 was tried in the 122nd Judicial District Court of Galveston County. The final judgment states that Eric Springstun appeared without trial counsel, that contested fact issues were submitted to the jury, and that judgment was rendered on the jury’s verdict.

The judgment awarded $1,886.36 personally against Springstun for unpaid assessments, $222.84 in prejudgment interest, $94,221.20 in attorney’s fees through trial, and additional conditional appellate fees. It also awarded separate in-rem amounts against the property and foreclosure-related relief.

September 13, 2024 jurisdiction order

On September 13, 2024, the court signed an order granting the Association’s plea to the jurisdiction. The order states that Eric Springstun’s counterclaims against the Association were dismissed with prejudice.

That order addressed the Association’s jurisdictional plea and Springstun’s counterclaims. The clerk record reflects substantial additional activity after that date, so this archive does not describe the September 2024 order as the end of the entire case.

Recusal motions in the trial-court record

The 24-CV-0102 docket reflects multiple verified motions and supplemental motions seeking recusal of Judge Jeth Jones under the Texas recusal rules. The filings began with a verified motion on February 6, 2025 and continued through additional verified and supplemental recusal filings in April and May 2025.

The docket shows that the recusal requests were denied. It also reflects a corrected April 24, 2025 order signed by Judge Susan Brown addressing multiple recusal motions. WharfClearLake.com does not present the filing of a recusal motion as proof of actual judicial partiality; it reports that Springstun used the formal procedure available for raising an impartiality concern and preserved that issue in the record.

Self-representation and access to review

Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 7 permits an individual to appear and prosecute or defend personal rights in person. Springstun’s appearance without trial counsel was therefore a form of participation recognized by Texas procedure, while ordinary procedural and evidentiary rules still applied.

Later case history and the July 2026 appellate record

The Galveston County case summary reports the February 17, 2026 final judgment by jury verdict and lists the case as appealed on April 29, 2026. The July 2026 clerk-record materials identify First Court of Appeals No. 01-26-00448-CV.

Springstun’s appellate materials include the pre-purchase A/R reports, deed chronology, Association collection documents, and other exhibits used to challenge the origin, timing, and enforceability of amounts asserted against the property. This page reports that appellate record as it stood in the source materials reviewed through July 2026 and does not imply a later disposition.

The same clerk record also reflects earlier appellate and mandamus activity associated with this trial cause.

Questions raised by the documented record

• Why did the pre-purchase Association A/R reports, as authenticated in Springstun’s appellate exhibits, show no dues owed for Dock 17, Slip 14 if substantial pre-purchase amounts were later asserted?
• Why was a lien filed against prior owner Jared Waring on April 28, 2023 after Springstun’s deed was recorded on April 17, 2023?
• How did a collection claim identified at roughly $1,729.38 in June 2024 lead to $94,221.20 in attorney’s fees through trial?
• What weight should be given on appeal to contemporaneous Association accounting records compared with later account statements?

The site does not answer those questions by assigning hidden motives. It publishes the chronology and source record so readers can evaluate the issues for themselves.

Why this chronology matters for Eric Springstun

The purpose of the Eric Springstun public-record archive is to show the actual procedural sequence rather than reduce a long-running dispute to one ruling. Here, the Association was the plaintiff, Springstun later asserted counterclaims, a 2024 jurisdiction order addressed part of the case, substantial proceedings continued, a 2026 jury judgment followed, and appellate activity was later documented.

Wharf Marina property context

Quick questions about Cause 24-CV-0102

What did the Association’s pre-purchase A/R evidence show?

Springstun’s appellate exhibits identify pre-purchase A/R reports as showing no dues owed for Dock 17, Slip 14 before purchase.

When was Eric Springstun’s deed recorded?

The appellate exhibit index identifies the recorded deed as filed April 17, 2023.

When was the later lien against the prior owner filed?

The record identifies an Association lien against prior owner Jared Waring filed April 28, 2023, after Springstun’s deed date.

How large was the attorney-fee award compared with the personal assessment damages?

The final judgment awarded $1,886.36 in personal assessment damages and $94,221.20 in attorney’s fees through trial—an attorney-fee award nearly fifty times the personal assessment damages.

What appellate record does this page reflect?

The page reflects clerk-record materials identified through July 2026, including First Court of Appeals No. 01-26-00448-CV. A later appellate disposition is not implied unless separately added.

Source record

• Galveston County clerk’s record and case summary for Cause 24-CV-0102.
• September 13, 2024 Order Granting the Association’s Plea to the Jurisdiction.
• July 2026 appellate clerk’s record identifying First Court of Appeals No. 01-26-00448-CV.

Editorial note: This page reports procedural entries and orders appearing in the clerk record. It does not treat allegations in pleadings as adjudicated facts.