Our Story - in a nutshell

As many of you have already heard, our motocross track is in serious jeopardy. We appreciate the time you have taken to reach out to us, to read our story and hopefully raise awareness to the grave effects this lawsuit may have on our motocross community as a whole.

Pure MX, formally named Montalba MX, has been an existing track located in East Texas since 2006. Under the previous owners operation, open practice was held nearly every weekend, members could ride anytime during the week, and several races were held throughout each year. There are no zoning regulations, no noise ordinances and is considered unrestricted county land.

My husband and I purchased the business in good faith in January of 2010. At that time, no noise complaints had ever been made to the previous owner. Knowing that the track had been in existence for over 3 yrs, we felt that concerns, if any, would have surfaced long before we ever made our purchase.

Four months into our ownership, we received a letter from a Dallas law firm demanding that we cease & desist running our business. Upon further investigation, we found that one of the partners in that firm had a weekend home approximately one mile down the road from us. After reaching out to our surrounding neighbors, we found that most had never met this attorney and most importantly, did not want to be a part of a lawsuit against us. We further met with the attorney in Dallas, as neighbors, to see if we could find some sort of compromise. We offered running fewer days than the previous owner did and with more restricted hours 10:00 – 4:00. We quickly realized however, that there was no compromise to be made. He threatened to file suit against us immediately if we did not close our gates.

In mid October, 5 months after the threatened litigation, we received a "courtesy copy" of a lawsuit that would be filed if we continued to run our business and proceed with our scheduled race. Our backs were against a wall. In order to protect ourselves, our business, and our livelihood, our counsel filed a motion for a declaratory judgment with the courts. And so it began. Days after our 1st race, we received a full blown lawsuit against us, with Robert Thackston, the Dallas attorney as the only plaintiff. Since that time he has sent letters to the Montalba community asking people to join the fight against us. He has made phone calls, knocked on doors soliciting neighbors with his free legal services and damages if they come aboard.

Late December, we went to trial for the temporary injunction hearing. 12 additional plaintiffs had joined the lawsuit at that point. Two of which were the very neighbors that did not want to be in a lawsuit in the first place. Many of the plaintiffs that joined do not even live in the community, but either own a weekend home, or just own property here.

After 2 days of testimony and one day of legal argument, the court ruled in our favor and did not shut us down. We are legally allowed to run our business until the permanent injunction hearing.

The battle against us continues. Not even a week after the ruling, Mr. Thackston and his plaintiffs have posted large signs all along our property lines asking us not to make noise. Cameramen were stationed at our front gate on January 8th 2011 taking pictures of everyone and writing down license plate numbers of all who entered our track. Letters were sent out to mx patrons (obtained through discovery) to deter riders from coming to our track. Many of these letters were sent to children as young as 5 & 6 years old. It seems that this attorney will do anything it takes to win this case. He even asked to speak at a church service, hoping to persuade its members to join the lawsuit, offering his free legal services once again and speaking untruths about our business plans and operations to gain support for his cause. Winning seems to be everything to this man no matter the means. We feel that his ultimate goal is to run us out of money and intimidate us into conceding before the trial even begins. His actions demonstrate this through his legal proceedings with our council and though his very open threats to scare away our patrons.

Our feelings… with a heavy heart we can honestly say that the past 9 months have been an emotional rollercoaster for us. We find strength in prayer and the loving support of the true Montalba community, who do want this motocross track here. We want to provide a positive environment for children and families to participate and enjoy the sport they love. It is my husbands dream to share everything motocross that he has learned with other upcoming young riders. We have compromised our business operation days and hours to be less than the previous owner. The hardest burden for us is not being able to move forward with our lives. We are at a standstill, running on idle with our hopes and dreams. It saddens us to know that although we legally are permitted to operate our business in a rural county, we find ourselves having to spend an exuberant amount of money just to defend our rights as property owners in a civil case.

As members of the motocross community we have all heard rumors of distant tracks through out our country, which have had to close their gates due to noise issues. Most of these tracks however, are in violation of noise ordinances, zoning laws and are most often brand new businesses within a community. We are the breaking stereotype here as none of these variables apply. If we lose in court, we were advised that this will set new case law for motocross tracks in Texas (as well as the rest of the country) making it that much easier for attorneys to shut other gates for good. This is why so many of you have asked us what "we" the motocross community can do to help? To start, many of our supporters have been working on the formation of an organization to help fight for motocross rights. The AMA you ask? The AMA only assists in public land disputes and or professional racing issues. There is nothing out there right now to help the "little guy" or amateur track.

Times are changing. It seems that we now live in a time where "I can do what I want on my property, and you do what I say you can do on yours". Our goals here are simple. First, win this battle in the courtroom to help set good case law for the motocross community. And secondly, though the proper channels, help create good legislation to protect the rights of existing track owners. Because if we all go away… so will the future of our sport.

Both of us would like to thank you for all your support, prayer and concern. This is not a fight that we asked for. Nor is it a fight that we choose to be in. But rather this is a fight that was put before us. Through Gods strength will we will endure. And through the unity of the motocross community we can prevail.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us. Donations can be made to either account posted on our home page to help us in our fight to ride.

Doni

(425) 245-3629

doni@puremxpark.com