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Lawsuit Against Comptroller's F1 Deal Officially Withdrawn

The first F1 race is planned for June of 2012.
Photo by Full Throttle Productions
The first F1 race is planned for June of 2012.

The lawsuit against Texas State Comptroller Susan Combs over a deal to subsidize an F1 racetrack was officially dropped today.  That was not a surprise to plaintiffs, who said a decision by District Court Judge Rhonda Hurley the week before left them with no way to move forward.

"We knew that we would [withdraw the case]  last Friday when Judge Hurley ruled that she would not grant a restraining order to stop Comptroller Combs from writing the check for $25 million dollars sometime later this month to [Formula One President] Bernard Ecclestone," plaintiff Richard Viktorin told KUT News. 

"The taxpayers  in the State of Texas can only prevent in this kind of suit a payment. They cannot, once it's happened. Once the cash is gone, they lose their standing," he said.

Bill Aleshire, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said the case was "non-suited without prejudice." That means the case can be "re-filed up until the time Comptroller Combs actually cuts the $25 million check to the F1 promoters," according to a press release from Aleshire.

Comptroller Combs had maintained that the F1 deal fell within the rules governing economic development subsidies in the state of Texas.

Mose Buchele focuses on energy and environmental reporting at KUT. Got a tip? Email him at mbuchele@kut.org. Follow him on Twitter @mosebuchele.