Lawyers for Veracruz won an extension for their lawsuit against Arturo Bermudez Zurita, his wife, and Javier Duarte. The lawsuit was initially scheduled to be dismissed in September 2018 without a court order giving the Veracruz government a claim against any of the Houston-area properties connected to the former Veracruz state police chief. The dismissal will now likely occur on December 17, 2018 unless lawyers for Veracruz take action by then.
The lawsuit was scheduled to be dismissed because the Houston attorneys hired by Governor Miguel Angel Yunes Linares had not yet notified the defendants about the lawsuit in the manner required by the courts.
But in September, the attorneys for Veracruz told the judge presiding over their lawsuit that the Veracruz government “is still diligently attempting to serve all defendants in this cause including Javier Duarte.”
At the same time in September, the attorneys for Veracruz gave the judge a copy of their May statement that they had attempted and failed to personally deliver the notice to Bermudez “at the only known address,” a location in Spring, Texas, referring to him as “Arturo Zurita.” Arturo Bermudez Zurita has been in prison since February 2017 when he was jailed at the Pacho Viejo prison in Veracruz.
The attorneys also provided a copy of their May statement telling the judge they had attempted and failed to personally notify his wife, Sofia Lizbeth Mendoza Hernandez, “at the only known address,” a different location in Spring Texas.
Yunes Linares filmed videos in June showing him touring inside two of the four properties identified in the lawsuit. Yunes said he planned to sell the properties to return funds to the people of Veracruz.
ChedrauiLeaks has been unable to find any record at the Harris County land record office showing Veracruz’s claim against the properties as of November 11, 2018. ChedrauiLeaks has also been unable to find any public sale advertisements for the properties as of November 11, 2018.
Click to read our earlier coverage of the lawsuit against Arturo Bermudez Zurita.
Documents
- Order on Plaintiff’s Verified Motion to Retain
- Notice of Intent to Dismiss generated October 17, 2018
- Plaintiff’s Verified Motion to Retain
- Plaintiff’s Motion for Substituted Service – “Sofia Hernandez”
- Plaintiff’s Motion for Substituted Service – “Arturo Zurita”
- Notice of Intent to Dismiss generated July 24, 2018
ChedrauiLeaks.org has noticed that the media in Mexico contains very little information about the business dealings and personal assets in the United States of what could be termed Mexican elites, wealthy business people and politicians. ChedrauiLeaks is not stating that members of the Chedraui family or its businesses had any involvement with any of the defendants, properties, or events described in the lawsuit.