The case involving the citywide sale of beer and wine, which voters approved in November, is set for trial September 12. Could be a short trial, could be a long trial, could be no trial at all; a hearing's set for this Friday in front of Judge Laurine Blake of Bonham, who will rule sooner than later on the city's motion for summary judgment filed two weeks ago. Then again, there's a slim chance the judge might want to go through every single one of the 69,702 signatures then-City Secretary Deborah Watkins certified in order to call the local option election. In which case, bring a flask.
Reason I mention all this: Whilst searching the county's website for something else, I stopped by to see if anything had been dropped in the case jacket since last we looked. And, sure enough: Leland de la Garza and Andy Siegel, the attorneys repping the "unidentified business interests [who] are funding the lawsuit," per the city's parlance, have filed their response to the city's motion for summary judgment.
In it, they reiterate their last remaining issue: that when known as Progress Dallas, which would rebrand itself Keep the Dollars in Dallas, turned in its petitions, the group was 1,612 valid signatures short of getting the city council to call the election. Eighty-four pages' worth of paperwork follows, including myriad excerpts from depositions taken in the case. The city maintains Watkins counted everyone correctly, and that, besides, there were far more signatures than needed to pull the trigger.
In the meantime, I see on the City Plan Commission's agenda for Thursday that the CVS near me, at the formerly dry northwest corner of Walnut Hill and Marsh, now wants to sell beer and wine. It's all the rage.
Response to City's Motion for Summary Judgment in Beer-Wine Suit
