Drink Up: Judge Pours Out Lawsuit Trying to Overturn Citywide Sale of Beer and Wine

Looks like we'll need to find something else to do on September 12: Judge Laurine Blake of Bonham has dismissed the lawsuit hoping to overturn the November referendum allowing for the citywide sale of beer and wine. As we've noted in recent days, the city had filed a motion for summary judgment in advance of the scheduled trial date, insisting that then-City Secretary Deborah Watkins had plenty of valid signatures on those petitions to trigger the local option election. But Andy Siegel and Leland de la Garza insisted yet again in their own filings last week that, no, she did not and that Progress Dallas was 1,612 valid signatures short of the 69,702 signatures needed.

The City Attorney's Office says it may have a statement later today; depends if Tom Perkins wants to weigh in on a suit that'll find an afterlife in the appeals court. Because there will be an appeal: "No big surprise," Siegel tells Unfair Park via email. "Saves the time & expense of going to trial before the appeals court clarifies the governing legal standard of whether the City was required to come up with a certified & valid number of Petition signatures before calling a lawful election."

Update at 5:27 p.m.: Thie City Attorney's Office just sent a brief statement: As in: "Today's ruling confirms that the Dallas City Secretary and the Dallas City Council followed the State laws and City ordinances when placing the local option election on the ballot. The ruling also validates the decision of the Dallas voters."