PENDER COUNTY — A Burgaw council member is being sued for allegedly standing in the way of her neighbors’ attempts to sell their property by harassing prospective buyers and refusing to remove a right-of-first-refusal agreement on the property.
Joy and Odessa Moran are suing their Piney Woods neighbors Myra McDuffie, elected to Burgaw Town Council in 2025, and her husband James. The McDuffies also own the Porters Neck restaurant MeMa’s Chick’n & Ribs.
The Morans, a mother and daughter who live next door to the McDuffies, have been trying to sell their property since July 2025, since missing mortgage payments. Having signed a right of first refusal contract with the McDuffies should they ever sell, the Morans notified the McDuffies of an offer to buy the property in October 2025.
The lawsuit alleges the McDuffies, instead of agreeing to purchase the property, have taken actions to sabotage the sale in an attempt to wait for a property foreclosure and to buy back the home at a cheaper price.
Per the initial complaint filed in April, the Morans are asking the court to intervene by removing the right of first refusal from the property, clearing the title for purchase, and award damages to the Morans for injuries resulting from the alleged interference.
McDuffie declined to comment on the lawsuit to Port City Daily Wednesday; in their counterclaim filing, they deny allegations of interference.
Uninvited advances
The Morans entered into the right of first refusal agreement with the McDuffies a year after buying the 1.13-acre property on Piney Woods Road. The McDuffies live next door.
As outlined in the lawsuit, the right of first refusal allows for the McDuffies to purchase the property before a third party. The agreement indicates the McDuffies have 30 days from written notice of an offer to initiate a purchase or refuse.
After putting the property on the market in the summer of 2025, the Morans received an offer in late October — $365,000 from Gelacio Garcia Villafane. The lawsuit states the Morans sent notice of the offer to the McDuffies on Nov. 1 and did not receive a response within the 30 days.
The McDuffies’ counterclaim states they did receive the purchase contract, but it “did not have sufficient signatures of the parties” to be a binding agreement. The McDuffies also claim the contract failed to state or reflect the payment of earnest money or escrow funds.
The McDuffies said they notified the Morans, though the problems were not resolved.
According to the Morans’ suit, however, the McDuffies did not want to solve the right-of-first-refusal issue, but wanted to interfere with the sale of the property in hopes the property would go into foreclosure.
Myra McDuffie explained to the Morans she and her husband “could not afford to pay market value for the property and preferred to buy it out of foreclosure at what they expected to be a steep discount,” the lawsuit indicates.
The Morans’ complaint also notes Myra McDuffie said she and her husband did not want the property connected to theirs to be bought by a Hispanic family.
The lawsuit includes affidavits from a real estate agent, Paula Beasely, representing Villafane. Villafane’s affidavit was written in Spanish and translated into English with Villafane’s sworn confirmation the two documents matched.
Both Villafane and Beasley’s accounts state Myra McDuffie made persistent attempts to contact Villafane in an attempt to dissuade him from purchasing the Morans’ property.
Villafane alleged a man — believed to be James McDuffie — went to Villafane’s home a few days after the Morans sent the McDuffies notice of the sale. McDuffie allegedly identified himself as someone with “the right to buy” the Morans’ property.
Villafane was at work, leaving James McDuffie to talk to Villafane’s then 16-year-old son. McDuffie allegedly told the teen there was a different property he would like the family to purchase instead.
When Villafane went to view the alternate property, he said it contained a mobile home.
In her affidavit, Beasely said Villafane called on Nov. 1 about his visit. Beasley claims the structure offered to Villafane was in poor condition and not suitable to live in, despite the selling price of $700,000.
Villafane indicated in his affidavit both the McDuffies were there during his visit. They allegedly told him buying the Piney Woods home was not in his best interest and “would not go well” for him.
Villafane said in his affidavit Myra McDuffie called Villafane’s son multiple times after the site visit, attempting to sway the family to purchase the alternate property.
Villafane’s primary language is not English, resulting in him relying on his son to aid in communication during the ordeal.
The McDuffies wrote in their counterclaim they communicated with the son because of his English abilities; however, the Morans’ complaint characterizes this contact as “bullying.”
As reported in Beasely’s affidavit, Villafane told her in a Nov. 4 phone call his son was extremely upset with his involvement and had asked his parents to intervene.
Also in the call, Beasely said Villafane told her the McDuffies made several references to “the law” and indicated the purchase of the Morans’ property was “illegal.” Beasley said she believes the statements were made to create fear and pressure the family to not go through with the purchase.
‘That’s my house’
After speaking with Villafane, Beasely said she called a number belonging to James McDuffie, as provided by her client. She claimed she asked McDuffie why he was in direct contact with her client, to which he responded they were just having “friendly conversation.”
James McDuffie allegedly told Beasley the Villafanes were “very nice people,” and he and his wife were considering selling the clients a different property. However, when questioned about contacting the couple’s minor son, Beasley alleges McDuffie had a “very nasty tone” and told her to contact his wife.
Beasley wrote in the affidavit that while on the phone with Myra McDuffie, the Morans’ neighbor insinuated several times the property belonged to her. She also began to list alleged problems with the property.
She brought up the septic system — located on the McDuffies’ land and serving the Morans’ property. Beasley told her the septic system included an easement, so legally access couldn’t be denied to any purchaser.
McDuffie then mentioned the foreclosure, which Beasely reported in the affidavit the Villafanes were aware of.
Then McDuffie allegedly brought up her driveway, which provides access to the Morans’ property.
Beasley claimed McDuffie said something along the lines of: “Good luck with anybody trying to get in and out because I won’t let them cross my land.”
Beasley then told McDuffie that Pender County already approved a new driveway and the seller was working with the county regarding the new access. At this information, Beasely indicated that McDuffie’s demeanor changed and she had a “tantrum.”
“She raised her voice and cried saying something close to ‘Why, why, why do they want that house? That’s my house! That’s my house! That’s my house! Why do they want that house? Can’t they buy another one?’” according to the affidavit.
Beasley said she attempted to steer the conversation back to the transaction and property purchase. She explained to McDuffie that she could purchase the property per the right of first refusal.
Allegedly, McDuffie cited financial strain causing an inability to purchase the land, but continued to claim the house belonged to her. She said she would “first see that house go into foreclosure and buy it from the courthouse steps for pennies on the dollar” before she saw somebody else live in the home.
Villafane then pulled his offer for the property, citing the McDuffies’ interference.
“My family felt harassed and bullied by the McDuffies,, and we were concerned about our safety,” Villafane wrote in his affidavit, confirming he terminated his contract to avoid retaliation.
The McDuffies, in their counterclaim, denied all allegations of harassment or trying to stall the sale for any purpose.
A second buyer
Following Villafane’s exit from the sale, the lawsuit included the Morans were able to secure a second buyer, though at a reduced price — around $20,000 less than Villafane’s offer..
The Morans demanded, in writing, the McDuffies provide a waiver of the right-of-first-refusal to clear the property’s title. The title insurance carrier for the second buyer would allegedly not approve the transaction without a recorded waiver.
“They could no longer enforce the ROFR given their breach of its express and implied terms,” the lawsuit states.
The Morans allegedly provided a copy of the second contract to the McDuffies, along with notification their continued interference would jeopardize the Morans’ ability to sell the property and avoid foreclosure.
The lawsuit alleged McDuffies refused to record a waiver and recognize a second 30-day ROFR window because the contract provided did not include names of the new buyers. The Morans said it was done to prevent the McDuffies from harassing the new buyer.
In their counterclaim, the McDuffies stated they received the demand but denied the other allegations about their refusal.
Without a clear title, the Morans were again in jeopardy of losing a buyer and having their property foreclosed upon.
However, this week, Judge Kent Harrell issued a preliminary injunction in the case preventing the foreclosure on the home until the case is resolved.
The parties are proceeding with litigation and a trial date has not been set.
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