- Click here for "Ethics commission wins at appeals court in lobbying case."
A state appeals court has ruled against a powerful conservative activist locked in a long-running legal feud with Texas’ campaign finance regulator, ordering a case that centers on a fine for breaking lobbying laws to be transferred to Travis County.
Empower Texans President Michael Quinn Sullivan, an influential figure in tea party circles, was fined by the commission in July 2014 for not registering as a lobbyist after it found “evidence of direct communications intended to influence legislative action.”
He appealed in state district court. However, shortly after the fine was levied, Sullivan claimed Denton County as his primary residence in a move that allowed the legal challenge to play out in North Texas as opposed to Travis County.
The Fort Worth-based 2nd Court of Appeals issued a ruling Wednesday to overturn a lower court that had determined Sullivan was a resident of Denton County. The appeals court also ordered the case to be transferred to Travis County, which the court described as the “mandatory venue.”
In the roughly 15 months that the case has bounced around state courts, residency has emerged as a key issue in the case. The commission had long charged that Sullivan plotted to evade a state fine for breaking lobbying laws by claiming residency outside of traditionally liberal Travis County and taking his case up north, where it was dismissed by a judge in Denton earlier this year.
Sullivan’s lawyers, who argue that his actions never amounted to lobbying, said he had long-standing roots in North Texas before claiming Denton as his residence, including family ties and an Empower Texans office.
The three-judge panel at the appeals court rejected that, along with an affidavit Sullivan signed attesting to Denton residency, saying the argument “is nothing more than a legal conclusion unless it is supported by facts that establish such residence.”
For more:
- Wikipedia: Michael Quinn Sullivan.- Tribpedia: Michael Quinn Sullivan.
- Wikipedia: Texans for Fiscal Responsibility.
- Appeals Court Backs Ethics Commission Over Activist.
