Tristan Hallman at the Dallas Morning News followed up on the case Hinga Mbogo, who fought for (and lost) the right to keep his auto shop in business on Ross Avenue in violation of zoning that was changed 11 years ago:
But in his latest crusade to borrow more time, Mbogo withheld a key piece of information about his suddenly illegal 30-year-old auto repair shop.
Even if he wanted to sell his shop, he couldn’t.
“Somebody is crowding the title,” he said.
That somebody is Mbogo’s former business partner, who claims he still has an ownership stake in the business. Mbogo, whose plight has been nationally showcased as a government infringement on property rights, has spent the last year trying to secure the full rights to his property, according to Dallas County civil court filings.
Mbogo’s long-ago partner Mohamed Ahmed contributed $30,000 toward the down payment and never sold his share. The two went into business together in 1990.
Mbogo and Ahmed disagree about what their deal was when Ahmed left the day-to-day business of the shop in 1997.
This helps explain why Mbogo claimed her couldn’t get a good offer for his shop, despite 30 years of appreciation for his property values. But why didn’t he mention it before the council? All he told Hallman was “That’s not their business. That’s my business.”
Mbogo says he’s not shutting down until the city comes to forcibly close his doors, which would presumably happen next month.
