Tim Barton has lost a long-running legal battle over a coveted property in Dallas’ Turtle Creek neighborhood.
U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr on Thursday approved a settlement for $2.5 million to an affiliate of HN Capital Partners for the lot at 2999 Turtle Creek Boulevard, which had been planned for the city. The first Mandarin Oriental hotel. Report.
The property, across from the HN Capital-owned Mansion in Turtle Creek, includes 2.3 acres of undeveloped land, a two-story office building and a parking lot. It’s worth $14.5 million, according to the Dallas Central Appraisal District.
Barton’s legal team has appealed the judge’s order.
Patton, owner and president of JMJ Development, lost more than his Turtle Creek trophy. The court-appointed receiver also sold the company’s other real estate assets, including Barton’s personal residence on Rock Creek Drive in Dallas.
And that wasn’t the end of his woes. He also faces federal criminal charges.
The Justice Department in September charged Barton with seven counts of wire fraud, plus conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud in connection with defrauding 100 Chinese investors of $26 million. Barton’s trial on the charges is scheduled for February 2024 at a planned single-family housing development in North Texas. If convicted, he faces up to 60 years in prison.
Court-appointed receiver Cort Thomas has been authorized to auction off the contents of the Turtle Creek office building, a move “in the best interest of the receiver’s property as it maximizes the value of the office contents while avoiding moving costs and storing the office content,” Starr said in the ruling.
In September, the SEC asked a bankruptcy judge to appoint a federal equity receiver to take over all of Barton’s assets, including the Turtle Creek land. The receivership includes 160 companies directly or indirectly controlled by Barton. The total value of the assets being taken over was more than $70 million, the media said.
— Quinn Donoghue
