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About this blog

 Frivolous lawsuit brought by man who wanted to remove an elected official from office over something elected official said, aided by a former elected county attorney and joined by an out of control elected county attorney who, at his discretion, joined the case as the State of Texas, and was ultimately defeated by Anti-Slapp

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State of Texas ex Rel Best v Harper

Summary: Paul Harper WON Against Frivolous Lawsuit by Darrell Best and the State of Texas (Andy Lucas

Frivolous lawsuit of State of Texas ex rel Darrell Best v Paul Harper OVER: Somervell County and Darrell Best PAID Somervell County County Commissioners (Glen Rose, Texas)  voted 5/0 on August 31, 2020 to pay Harper $165,000 in settlement.  Darrell Best has separate settlement agreement to pay Harper $45,000.  Why? Darrell Best, local Glen Rose resident, with Ronald D Hankins (former Somervell County Attorney and current Somervell County Hospital District board member) writing the
State of Texas ex Rel Best v Harper

(1) Express Opinions and Get Elected -Oops, Darrell Best Coming After You

One sleepy, hot day in August 2014, a friend of mine called me to ask why Darrell Best was suing my husband. Both my friend and I had known Darrell Best for years. My friend is one that conscientiously reads public filings included in a monthly newsletter and saw this before Paul had even been served. I couldn''''t imagine for what reason a suit was filed. Paul was a public figure because he had been elected to serve on the Somervell County Hospital District board as of May 2014. I knew there we
State of Texas ex Rel Best v Harper

(2) County Attorney Andrew Lucas Joins Lawsuit as State of Texas

'Can a citizen remove an elected official without the State being involved? Nope About a month after the original petition had been filed, Andy Lucas officially took on the petition to remove Harper, with styling "State of Texas ex rel George Darrell Best v Paul Harper". This means that for all purposes, the lawsuit was now being driven by Andy Lucas, who acted/acts as a representative of the State of Texas. Again, this is because George Darrell Best had no ability to pursue the case he bro
State of Texas ex Rel Best v Harper

(3) 249th District Court (Somervell County) Hears Case

First Removal Hearing - Oct 20 2014 Darrell Best Testimony Darrell Best’s testimony Q. And what were the allegations you made in that petition? A. Well, there was two allegations to start with. The first allegation had to do with the proposal to set the tax rate at zero, and the second had to do with the 501a, what they call slush fund, and accusing the CFO and CEO of performing criminal acts relative to the 501a. Q. And subsequent to filing that petition, you made some open records re
State of Texas ex Rel Best v Harper

(4) Harper Files Anti-SLAPP appeal to 10th Court of Appeals (Waco)

District Judge dismissed Anti-SLAPP; Harper appeals the District judge had dismissed the anti-slapp motion. Lucas was supposed to have presented his evidence with clear and specific evidence; he did not. Harper and his attorneys filed a notice of accelerated appeal on March 29 2015 with the 10th Court of Appeals in Waco. Specifically What is a SLAPP Suit and an Anti-SLAPP action? From Wikipedia- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic ... ticipation See also A Primer
State of Texas ex Rel Best v Harper

(5) Darrell Best, Andrew Lucas and Ron Hankins Actions After District Court

Lucas and Hankins attempted a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) to keep Harper from attending meeting Andy Lucas, Somervell County attorney, operating as the State of Texas, attempted to prevent Harper from attending the a meeting with an Application for a Restraining Order. Ron Hankins, one of the other Somervell County Hospital District members, supplied an affidavit. The judge denied that application. On 3/11/2015 the judge signed the order denying Paul’s anti‐slapp motion to dismiss.Not
State of Texas ex Rel Best v Harper

(6) Harper Wins ANTI-SLAPP Against State of Texas at 10th Court of Appeals

'Briefs Filed from Both Sides with the 10th Court of Appeals Briefs were filed from both sides and on November 4, 2015, oral arguments were heard by the justices on the appeals court. Harper''s brief Andy Lucas as the State of Texas brief Lucas, as the State of Texas, essentially argued that Removal Actions are exempt from the TCPA, that the TCPA was not intended to apply to a removal action, and that the State established a clear and specific case for removal. As have mention
State of Texas ex Rel Best v Harper

(7) State of Texas (Andy Lucas) Appeals to Texas Supreme Court- Loses

State of Texas (Andy Lucas) Appeals Defeat to the Texas Supreme Court Paul Harper won 3 times, Andy Lucas lost 3 times. The judgement on the Anti‐Slapp Motion to Dismiss was against the State of Texas. For whatever reason, Lucas wanted to continue to press his case. One factor may have been that he was able to use taxpayer money to pay for not only his own filings but the outside advice he got from more presumably experienced attorneys. Lucas wasn’t quite ready to make it an official bri
State of Texas ex Rel Best v Harper

(8) Back to District Court- Judgment Against State of Texas and Darrell Best

'Andy Lucas, bizarrely, puts in an answer to the original Anti-Slapp motion. Darrell Best was told by Andy Lucas, when the Texas Supreme Court ruled against the State of Texas, that the next step was going to be coming back down to district court to determine fees and sanctions. NOT to try the entire case over again from scratch.     Judge Weeks Rules for Judgment Against State of Texas and Darrell Best As part of the hearing in August 2019, Chip Harrison testif
State of Texas ex Rel Best v Harper

(9) Aftermath-Personal Opinions

Why Did George Darrell Best, Ron Hankins and Andy Lucas Do This? Theory of what they may have thought would happen   This next part is my personal theory about what the heck happened. When you decide to sue someone, you have to weigh the possible outcomes. When Andy Lucas decided to take on Darrell Best’s petition, he may have thought *Paul will quit because he doesn’t want to spend, or doesn’t have, the money for an attorney *If Paul doesn’t quit but doesn’t hire an attorney, we’l

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