Court filing claims JC’s Ball lied about details surrounding effort to buy Sean Williams’ condo

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — A new legal filing in a lawsuit against Johnson City on behalf of alleged sexual assault victims accuses City Manager Cathy Ball of making “knowingly false statements” in a June 26 media conference related to Ball’s contract to buy alleged serial rapist Sean Williams’ downtown condominium.

The filing includes dozens of pages of recently subpoenaed text messages from late March to late May 2022 between Ball and a real estate agent, and between the agent and Williams, who by then had been wanted on a federal warrant for about a year. The attorneys seek to prevent Ball from additional “extrajudicial conduct” including comments about the case, and also to sanction the city’s defense attorneys “for their role in facilitating Ball’s press conference.”

Ball said in the June 26 news conference that beyond knowing the apartment was owned by a Sean Williams, “that name did not mean anything to me” when she signed a contract to buy his fifth-floor apartment at 200 E. Main St. in April 2022. She told reporters that “when I learned that the person was a fugitive, I withdrew my offer…” and called the proposed deal “an unfortunate coincidence” that she wanted to be transparent about after plaintiffs’ attorneys requested additional information about the condo.

The contract was set to close around May 27.

Friday’s filing by attorneys in the “Jane Doe” case claim Ball remained on track to buy Williams’ apartment for $416,000 right up to that time. In the end, a different buyer paid $800,000 for both that apartment and two others Williams owned in the same building during a May 27 transaction.

“The text messages show Ball never backed out of the deal, but in fact, it was Williams who failed to show up on the date of the closing,” Friday’s motion states.

The text messages show that as of May 25 or 26, Ball appeared to still want to close the deal, with someone having power of attorney set to represent an absent Williams. Williams had not responded to emails and calls from a real estate agent May 25, the agent put in a text message, but added “I’m not saying (closing) won’t ever happen — I’m just saying it won’t happen tomorrow.”

Ball responded “Hopefully something can happen next week. I have some time on my loan interest rate.”

The plaintiffs’ attorneys also argue the texts suggest Ball knew at least something about Williams as early as April 25. A text from that date shows Ball had information of some sort she had chosen not to tell the home inspector, Michael Ray, who is also the husband of City Commissioner Jenny Brock.

“Michael confirmed that he will be doing the home inspection tomorrow morning,” an April 25 text from Ball to the realtor says. “I did not tell him the story behind Sean.”

The city provided the following response Monday to an inquiry: “As Ms. Ball previously stated, she did not know Sean Williams, she never paid Sean Williams any money, and she did not purchase any property from Sean Williams.”

Williams, 52, faces multiple federal charges and state charges of child rape that are tied to the apartment Ball nearly purchased. His alleged crimes, which authorities now claim were filmed using cameras he had set up in the apartment, form the basis for the Doe civil lawsuit against the city and members of the Johnson City Police Department (JCPD).

That lawsuit was initially filed in June 2023. It claims alleged victims’ constitutional rights were violated when JCPD failed to adequately investigate Williams , pinning some of the alleged failures on corruption. The city has denied any wrongdoing in that case and a separate but related civil lawsuit filed in 2022.

Plaintiffs in the Doe case have twice asked a judge to limit or prevent Ball from making what are known as “extrajudicial comments” about the case. The first time was after an Aug. 25, 2023 news conference in which Ball commented on the lawsuit after the city filed its initial response to it.

Ball noted that the defense may include the use of so-called “comparative fault,” saying the alleged victims’ allegations include admissions that they “partook of illegal drugs” when with Williams and that attorneys may use that information in a comparative fault defense. Plaintiffs quickly labeled the statements “victim-blaming,” and filed a motion to prevent further statements “shifting the blame to Plaintiffs.”

A judge denied that motion but called Ball’s statements “lamentable at best.”

The Doe attorneys renewed that motion following the June 26 news conference, calling her statements “deliberately misleading and intended to manipulate the public narrative” in a June 28 filing. That filing also accused the city’s lawyers of having “gravely abused the designation process” by marking material as confidential “only to apparently assist in publicizing that very same information in a way that serves their client’s personal public relations goals.”

Text trail begins March 31

Friday’s filing seeks to “supplement” the renewed motion with texts that it received July 25 in response to a June 16 subpoena of the real estate agent. The material also includes texts between the agent and Williams, whom JCPD had tried to serve with a federal “felon in possession of ammunition” warrant on May 5, 2021, after which he had been a wanted man.

Ball wasn’t even a city employee at that time. She replaced Pete Peterson, who retired, in December 2021.

By late March 2022, Ball was looking for a place to buy downtown. She texted the agent March 31 asking if she had “any residential condos for sale downtown?”

The agent replied, “I actually know of someone looking to sell their condo! It’s 3000sf. In 200 e main. Floor 5.”

In a June 3 deposition, an attorney for the Does asked Ball about her $416,000 offer and whether it was below or above asking price.

“He had not yet put it on the market. So I had not seen an asking price identified,” Ball said according to the transcript.

Ball texted on April 4 that she wanted the unit. On April 7, she asked the agent “if you have heard from Mr. Williams.” The next day, the agent let Ball know Williams had accepted a $416,000 offer, and on April 12 she texted that the unit was under contract.

Williams seeks power of attorney to sign for him

On April 19, the agent suggested Ball use Marcy Walker as a real estate attorney for the deal and sent her Walker’s number. That same day, she texted that Williams was “getting increasingly agitated,” and that she hoped he could find someone to exercise power of attorney “if he can’t be at closing.”

Less than a week later, Ball had arranged for Michael Ray to do the home inspection. She texted the agent April 25 to say she thought that would occur the next morning.

“I did not tell him the story behind Sean,” Ball added.

Exactly a month later, the agent texted Ball at 2:45 p.m. May 25 with a “Message from seller,” followed by. “I just talked to the bank. They are sending the info over to Marcy. I got the poa so everything’s squared away. Sorry for the bad service in the mountains.”

Ball responded asking if this was “good news” or “still to be determined,” to which the agent said it was positive news. “I want the name and contact of the poa. Then I will be a bit more settled.”

The next text in the thread was the last until a May 31 about a different condominium on Roan Street. In it, the agent says she’s checked email and called (Williams) several times with no response.

“I’m afraid closing will not take place tomorrow. I’m terribly sorry … I’m not saying it won’t ever happen — I’m just saying it won’t happen tomorrow.”

Ball made no mention of Williams’ fugitive status in her reply.

“Marcy called me and let me know. Hopefully something can happen next week. I have some time on my loan interest rate. No need to be sorry.”

Williams goes dark

Texts between the agent and Williams start March 31, when the agent texted him seven minutes after Ball’s first text asking whether she knows about any condos for sale. It said “Wanted to chat about the condo you called me about…”

On April 7 the agent said Ball will offer $416,000 and that she’ll take 4% as a commission, “So you will clear $400,000.”

The pair worked out power of attorney details over the following weeks, as well as other somewhat standard pre-sale matters. On April 27, the agent texted Williams to say “The POA is on the floor for you to sign and get notarized.”

On May 6, Williams texted to say “lets (sic) sell the third floor too…”

On May 20, the agent messaged Williams, “Hopefully you are working on the limited power of attorney so you can close on the condo on Friday 5/27.”

On May 24 she texted asking Williams to get payoff amount details and wire instructions to Marcy Walker. The agent also texted that the POA needed to bring a drivers license and wire instructions “of the account where the money will go to.

“Needs to be in their name since they are signing. Then they can get you what you need after that.”

Williams texted at 2:41 p.m. May 25 with the message the agent forwarded to Ball about getting everything squared away. The agent responded with details about the POA and the need for Walker to coordinate with them.

The last text the agent sent to Williams was at 8:24 a.m. May 27. It read simply, “Is your phone still working?”

It was the same day Williams sold all three of his properties in the building to Blount Investments, LLC for $800,000.

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