HOUSTON – Today, the 14th Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s denying a motion to dismiss a lawsuit over the 2011 sale of the Houston Astros.
Back in 2013, Houston Baseball Partners, which was formed by current Astros owner Jim Crane, filed suit against Comcast, NBC Universal, Drayton McLane, the previous owner of the Astros, and McLane Champions, alleging fraud, negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract.
HBP also alleged that the defendants engaged in a civil conspiracy to defraud.
HBP claimed to have paid much more for the acquisition of the ball club than it would have offered if it possessed accurate information and that it lost its equity interest in the Regional Sports Network.
Court records show the case was removed to federal court, where it remained for five years because of the bankruptcy of the sport network.
After the case was remanded back to state court, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss under the Texas Citizens Participation Act, which was denied by the trial court.
On appeal, the defendants argued the TCPA mandates dismissal because HBP lacks standing and otherwise failed to present prima facie evidence in support of its claims.
After reviewing the record, justices affirmed the trial court’s decision, concluding that HBP does have standing and produced clear and specific evidence for each essential element of its claims.
HBP is represented by McGuireWoods attorneys Ronald Franklin, Thomas Farrell and Charles Hampton.
Appeals case No. 14-20-00043-CV