(Score card in Texas) – Judge Melissa Andrews of Texas Business School has returned the high-profile lawsuit involving Texas Lottery rigging suspected of rigging to Travis County District Court. The ruling comes after the plaintiff’s decision to waive certain allegations that prompted the commercial court to claim jurisdiction.
The controversy over the jackpot led Governor Lieutenant Dan Patrick to describe the Texas Lottery as “probably the largest money laundering program in the country.”
Reed v. ROOK TX lawsuit comes from Jerry Reed's $7.5 million Texas jackpot in May 2023.
Reed's legal team not only asserted that he is entitled to $95 million, but also sought to uncover potential money laundering plans.
On Monday, Judge Andrews ordered the case to be returned to the 353th District Court. In her opinion, she explained how the case began in court.
Judge Andrews wrote: “While this is not the kind of case that people usually expect to find in a commercial court, Reed (perhaps accidentally) begged him to enter the court's jurisdiction by alleging the demands regarding the governance, management of documents and internal affairs of the defendant Ruke.”
Under state law, such cases fall under the jurisdiction of the business school.
Rook dismissed the case to the third Commercial Court Division by submitting a notice of dismissal. Reed then filed a motion to return the case to the District Court, but was denied.
Manfred Sternberg – Reed's attorney – he does not want the case to be heard in a commercial court because it “is a newly formed limited jurisdiction court whose jurisdiction over the subject is unclear.”
On August 5, Reed released his fourth revised petition, “ignoring his previous allegations related to the Rook TX formation date, whether for improper purposes, the Rook defendant was created and pierced the company's veil.”
As Reed removed the complaint section that originally allowed the Commercial Court to claim jurisdiction, Judge Andrews no longer had reason to deny Reed's motion for remand.
“Now, while later events usually do not divest the jurisdiction, Reed successfully begged for his jurisdiction by removing all these claims from his complaints,” Judge Andrews said.
“In many cases, the case proves itself an exception to the rule, but at least one example is that the plaintiff is the owner of the complaint,” she said.
Sternberg praised Judge Andrews for his “written comment” and defended the ruling as moving in the right direction.
For those who doubt the intentions of the Commercial Court and Andrews’ previous ruling on the case, the decision was a victory.
In July, Judge Andrews refused to reveal hidden corporate interests behind Rook TX's alleged lottery program.
After the Texas scorecard report on the matter, Judge Andrews overturned her decision in August, ordering the disclosure of ROK TX members and partners to the court, but protected by a public perspective.
Rook TX did not respond to a timely request for comment from the Texas scorecard.
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