At-large Councilman Roland Barrera said the dispute stems from a misunderstanding over the city’s expectations.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The City of Corpus Christi is once again facing a legal battle, this time involving development work in the London area that the City Council approved in 2024 to be completed by JM and LM Investments, LLC.

The dispute centers on infrastructure work completed by the developer and whether the project met the requirements necessary for reimbursement.



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At-large Councilman Roland Barrera said the dispute stems from a misunderstanding over the city’s expectations.

“The idea was they had to build a 12-inch line to be able to accommodate future growth and to qualify for reimbursement. They only built an 8-inch line. They didn’t comply with the requirements in order to meet reimbursement,” he said.

At-large Councilwoman Carolyn Vaughn, who was one of the council members who moved to place the item on the executive session agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, said the issue goes deeper than the infrastructure requirements.

“Alleges someone approached them and said all you have to do is know the right people, contribute to her campaign. That’s illegal and here’s another example of corruption in the city,” she said.

District 3 Councilman Eric Cantu, who also moved to place the item on the executive session agenda after hearing about the situation, said the work has put the developer in a financial bind.

“We’re going to find a solution for this family because they’re on the verge of filing bankruptcy because of this. We can’t do this, we can’t allow them to file bankruptcy because our city is out of touch. They’re not one of the big names,” he said.

The City Council is now looking to its legal team for guidance on the dispute.

The legal matter comes at an unusual time at City Hall, with Mayor Paulette Guajardo currently serving a 30-day suspension.

3NEWS attempted to contact JM and LM Investments, LLC, for comment but was unable to reach a representative as of Tuesday night.

The story will be updated if the developer responds.