Lubbock County denied wrongdoing Thursday in its legal response to a game room lawsuit.
The owner of El Fronteriso, Eric Thompson, filed the lawsuit last month shortly after the county updated its regulation of local game rooms. LubbockLights.com covered the original lawsuit here.
The county’s legal response did not address any of the specific claims in Thompson’s lawsuit. Instead, the county used a legal technique called a general denial. It’s the rough equivalent of “prove it.”
El Fronteriso’s lawsuit claimed county commissioners exceeded their authority in passing changes which cut game room hours by more than half (from 97 hours per week to 45).
“I think it’s debilitating. I think that it’s an undue burden, especially if you’re operating legally,” Thompson told LubbockLights.com after the changes took effect.
Sheriff Kelly Rowe talked to LubbockLights.com before the lawsuit was filed. While Rowe is not a big fan of the county’s ordinance, he’s also not a fan of local game rooms.
“These places, by their very essence, are illegal,” Rowe said.
He called them criminal enterprises. Thompson said the sheriff is not taking into account an exception in state law for game rooms offering novelty prizes instead of cash.
Thompson was charged recently with a Class A misdemeanor – specifically he was committing a game room ordinance violation that occurred in November.
The lawsuit was filed in the 237 the District Court – under Judge Les Hatch. However, Hatch recused himself. Ana Estevez, presiding judge of the Ninth Administrative Judicial Region, reassigned the case Thursday to visiting judge Patrick Pirtle. The case remains pending as both sides have a chance to collect evidence. No trial date has been set.
Click here to see the county’s response.
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– James Clark is the associate editor of Lubbock Lights. He worked in radio, television and digital media for a combined total of more than 30 years. He was Director of Digital News Content at KAMC,…
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