The order from state Supreme Court Judge Barry Kramer calls an immediate halt to the latest round of bidding in the never-ending competition to build a racino at Aqueduct. Gov. David Paterson had been talking up the fast-tracking of this round after the disastrous selection of AEG in January, which was followed in March by the consortium’s rejection in March.
A hearing in the matter is scheduled for July 23 in Schenectady.
AEG — now called Aqueduct Entertainment Company — requested the halt until its claims could get a full hearing. The central thrust of its legal argument is that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver changed the rules at the end of the process by requesting that even marginal investors in the group had to receive a license from the Lottery Division. Several — including the well-connected Rev. Floyd Flake and the well-rapping Jay-Z — dropped out in the wake of the controversial selection, although Lottery required that they be subject to the process.
AEG’s case, however, is based on the idea that the bidding process had rules for breaking — a point that critics of the years-long nightmare might dispute.
Updated: Ken Lovett at the DN reports that since Lottery hasn’t been served with either the lawsuit or the judge’s order, the agency is proceeding ahead with the bidding process. Well, they might want to put on their best lawsuit-reception outfits, because attorney Daryl Davis is headed to the Capital Region with a stack of paper.
Reached en route, Davis said that the legal strategy was to hold off on serving the defendants until the judge had issued an order, or by the serving deadline of July 15. He’ll be stopping by the Attorney General’s office first — the AG would serve as presumptive counsel to Gov. David Paterson; also at the Capitol, Davis will be able to serve representatives of Senate Conference Leader John Sampson, Temporary President Malcolm Smith and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Then it’s just a short drive to the Electric City to serve the Lottery Division.
Here’s a copy of the press release; the temporary restraining order itself begins on page 2 of the document below:
Doman Davis Press Release July 14. 2010-1
Here’s the press release from the firm of Doman Davis:
On Monday, July 12, 2010, New York Supreme Court Judge Barry D. Kramer ordered the New York State Division of Lottery (Lottery) to cease “conducting the new bidding process for the development and operation of the Aqueduct Racetrack video lottery terminals facility.”
That order, which grants temporary relief to Aqueduct Entertainment Company (AEC), will remain in effect pending a hearing scheduled for July 23, 2010, at 9:30 a.m. AEC, formerly known as Aqueduct Entertainment Group or AEG, sued Lottery, Governor David Paterson, Senators Malcolm Smith and John Sampson, and Assemblyman Sheldon Silver on July 9, 2010, for wrongfully denying AEC a video lottery gaming license and rescinding the Aqueduct racino contract award. The lawsuit seeks injunctive and declaratory relief, including a halt to the new bid process and restoration of AEC to the racino contract. Daryl Davis, a partner at Doman Davis LLP, the law firm representing AEC, said “Judge Kramer’s ruling gives AEC its first opportunity to publicly address Lottery’s peculiar decision. Lottery found AEC unlicenseable’ for reasons that have no basis in the law.” Latif Doman, of Doman Davis, added that “We’re delighted with the Court’s ruling because it’s the first step in getting full relief for AEC and for the Queens community that desperately needs the jobs and vending opportunities AEC’s winning bid promised.”
The case is before Judge Barry D. Kramer in the New York Supreme Court, County of Schenectady. The case number is 46-1-2010-0979, index number 2010-1442.
