In 1996 Thomas Phillips, a retired longshoreman and Bordersville resident, joined with representatives of Kingwood and sued the City of Houston in federal court arguing that the city could not legally annex areas if it did not provide certain services to some of its existing areas, including Bordersville which never had city water. Imad F. Abdullah, the President of Landmark Architects Inc., criticized the residents who fought annexation in his 1996 editorial in the "Houston Business Journal", arguing that a "not in my backyard" mentality in particular communities overall negatively affects the entire metropolitan area. Houston annexed Kingwood at 11:59 PM on December 31, 1996, adding about to the city limits.