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Plaintiff Dan Huberty files this Original Petition for Violations of the Election Code and
Verified Application for Temporary Restraining Order and Temporary And Permanent
Injunction.
1. Plaintiff intends to conduct discovery under Level 1 of the Texas Rules of Civil
Procedure 190.3.
Representatives, District 127. One of the qualifications for this position is that Grant must reside
within the district for six months, or since at least June 2017. Grant’s ballot application lists a
residence within the district. But this is not Grant’s residence. Recently discovered evidence
demonstrates that Grant has been residing outside the district since December 2016—well
outside the statutorily required minimum residency period. Grant is statutorily ineligible for the
position he seeks.
3. Grant’s ineligibility has been brought to the attention of the appropriate
authorities within the Republican Party. The Harris County Republican Party has asked Grant to
respond to the allegations that he does not reside in the district. A temporary restraining order is
necessary to maintain the status quo so that Grant may respond and allow the party to determine
Grant’s eligibility and remove him from the ballot. (Or, in the unlikely event that Grant is found
eligible, a TRO will allow immediate judicial review of this important matter prior to Grant
4. Finalization of the ballot is imminent. The Harris County Republican Party will
conduct a final ballot drawing for the 2018 primary at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, December 21. If
the party includes Grant in that ballot drawing and places his name on the ballot, it will be
including a person who is ineligible to run and cannot legally take the seat. Inclusion of an
ineligible candidate will cause significant harm to Dan Huberty—an undisputedly qualified
Parties
6. Paul Simpson (“Simpson”) is an individual and the Chair for the Harris County
Republican Party, and may be served with citation at his public mailing address at 7232
7. James Dickey (“Dickey”) is an individual and the Chair for the Texas Republican
Party, and may be served with citation at his principal place of business at 211 E. 7th Street Ste.
8. Reginald Clyde Grant, Jr. (“Grant”) is an individual and may be served with
citation at his residence, 10118 Wayward Wind Lane, Houston, Texas 77064.
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Jurisdiction and Venue
9. Plaintiff seeks only equitable relief. This Court has jurisdiction under § 273.081
of the Texas Election Code. See also Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 65.021. Because Plaintiff
does not seek damages, for purposes of Rule 47, he seeks damages of less than $100,000. See
10. Venue is proper in Harris County under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code
§15.002 because it is the county of one or more of the defendants’ residences at the time the
Background
11. Huberty currently holds the seat for the Texas House of Representatives District
127. He is the incumbent in the upcoming primary. Reginald Clyde Grant, Jr. (“Grant”)
12. Grant’s campaign filings state his current residence is 29802 Huffman Cleveland
13. But Grant does not actually reside at Huffman. Instead, Grant resides at 10118
Wayward Wind Lane, Houston, Texas 77064 (“Wayward Lane”). Wayward Land is not within
District 127. Interestingly, though not singularly dispositive, Grant even lists his mailing address
14. Recently uncovered public records confirm that since at least December 2016,
Grant has resided at Wayward Lane.1 Because Grant must reside within the district for six
months prior to the deadline for him to file his application, see Tex. Elec. Code § 141.001(a)(5),
and because Wayward Lane is outside District 127, Grant is ineligible to run for this position.
1
See Exhibit 1, Letter to Paul Simpson regarding Grant Ineligibility.
3
15. Grant’s divorce filings—which are public records—demonstrate that he does not
live in District 127. Grant’s petition states that he and his wife ceased living together in
December 2016.2 At that time, Grant began living at Wayward Lane while his wife lived at
Huffman. Thus, since December 2016 Grant did not reside within the district—a conclusion
reinforced by the remainder of Grant’s divorce petition. For example, Grant specifically requests
a temporary restraining order that prohibits his wife from “excluding Petitioner from the use and
enjoyment of the residence located at 10118 Wayward Lane, Houston, Texas 77064.”3 Grant
would not need such relief unless he resided at Wayward Lane. Moreover, Grant recounts an
instance in April 2017 where he “stopped by [the] house on Huffman” to check on the dogs who
“were not acting their usual selves probably because I was not there.”4 Again, this sworn
statement by Grant confirms he was not residing at Huffman (at least by April 2017).
16. Moreover, HCAD records shed further light on Grant’s living situation. HCAD
records show that George Foreman owns Huffman.5 Upon information and belief, George
Foreman is Grant’s estranged wife’s father. Likewise, HCAD records show that Reginald Grant
owns Wayward Lane.6 Upon information and belief Reginald Grant, Sr. is Grant’s father. It is
logical to conclude that upon separating Grant resided in the property owned by his family and
17. Other public records confirm that Grant does not reside at Huffman. An open
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records request to the Texas Education Agency (“TEA”) revealed that Grant, currently a
geography teacher in Aldine ISD, changed his address on July 9, 2017 with the TEA to reflect
2
Exhibit 1, at Exhibit D – Excerpts from Original Petition.
3
Id.
4
Exhibit 1, at Exhibit E – Petitioner’s Supporting Affidavit.
5
Exhibit 1, at Exhibit F – Harris CAD records for Huffman Property.
6
Exhibit 1, at Exhibit G – Harris CAD records for Wayward Lane Property.
4
Wayward Lane as his address. Teachers are required to provide TEA with current, accurate
18. Grant has also made social media postings confirming that he resides at Wayward
Lane. On October 16, 2017, Grant tweeted a photo showing the tires had been stolen from his
truck, stating that he took the photo after he “[w]alked out the house” on his way to work.7 In the
comments to that photo, Grant states that is “over in Jersey Village.”8 Wayward Lane—not
19. Huberty brought this recently discovered information about Grant’s residence to
Simpson’s attention. The Harris County Republican Party then gave Grant until 12:00 p.m.
20. As Huberty waits for Grant to respond and for the Harris County Republican
Party to make an eligibility determination, both the county and state branches of the Republican
Party continue to take steps towards finalizing the 2018 primary ballot.
21. Texas Republican Party Chair Dickey is set to certify the ballot at any time.
22. Harris County Republican Party Chair Simpson is about to conduct a drawing to
determine the order of candidates’ names on the general primary election ballot for Harris
County. See Tex. Elec. Code § 172.082. Upon information and belief, the ballot draw is
scheduled for Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m. Grant, despite his ineligibility, will appear on that
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ballot unless a temporary restraining order is issued to prevent the ballot draw from going
7
Exhibit 1, at Exhibit H – Grant Twitter 10/16/17.
8
Id.
9
Exhibit 2, Email from
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Cause of Action: Violations of the Election Code
23. Plaintiff re-alleges and incorporates by reference each of the foregoing paragraphs
25. This statue confers a private cause of action to seek an injunction for ongoing or
threatened violations of the Election Code. City of El Paso v. Tom Brown Ministries, 505 S.W.3d
26. Grant’s application was defective when filed because Grant did not reside in
District 127 for at least the six months preceding the primary election filing deadline. Tex. Elec.
Code § 141.001. His application should have been rejected. Further steps taken to include Grant,
27. Plaintiff re-alleges and incorporates by reference each of the foregoing paragraphs
preventing, in the short term, the Republican Party from placing onto the ballot a plainly
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ineligible candidate. To obtain injunctive relief, the applicant must demonstrate (i) a cause of
action against the defendant, (ii) a probable right to the relief sought, and (iii) a probable,
29. Grant was ineligible for District 127 as of the filing deadline of December 11,
2017. In fact, public records conclusively establish that Grant was not residing in District 127
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since at least December 2016. Because Grant did not reside in District 127 for at least six months
prior to the filing deadline, Grant’s application did not comply with the applicable requirements
for making an application for a place on the general primary election ballot. Thus, Plaintiff has a
valid cause of action to have Grant declared ineligible and has a probable right to recover on that
cause of action.
30. The Republican Party is aware of the fact that Grant is ineligible. They have
requested that Grant respond to the allegations of his ineligibility by 12:00 p.m. on Friday,
December 22, 2017. Until the Republican Party has determined Grant’s eligibility (or
ineligibility), the ballot drawing, set for Thursday, December 21, 2017, and any other action to
proceed with finalizing the ballot should be restrained. If the party finds Grant ineligible, Grant
should not be included on the ballot. Alternatively, in the event that the Republican Party,
including Simpson, wrongfully determines that Grant is eligible, Plaintiff requests immediate
judicial review. This determination can be made at the hearing for temporary injunction, which
31. Plaintiff would be irreparably injured if Simpson included Grant on the ballot
draw and certified that ballot draw’s results, despite being presented with conclusive proof of
Grant’s ineligibility. Plaintiff—an undisputedly qualified candidate and currently the incumbent
for District 127—would be forced to devote time, money, to defend his seat against a primary
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32. Moreover, State Chair Dickey’s certification of Grant for the 2018 Primary Ballot
would also cause irreparable harm. Dickey may be enjoined under Texas Election Code
§ 273.081. Under the Election Code, a candidate’s name shall not be certified for placement on
the general primary election ballot “if, before delivering the certification, the state chair learns
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that the name is to be omitted from the ballot under Section 172.057.” Tex. Elec. Code
§ 172.028.
33. Huberty seeks a temporary restraining order preserving the status quo by
preventing Simpson and Dickey from taking steps to conduct the ballot draw on Thursday,
December 21, 2017, and from certifying Grant as a candidate for District 127 and placing him on
c. A temporary restraining order and temporary injunction, ordering that Dickey and
his representatives, agents, servants, persons, present employees and all persons
acting in concert, participation or by, through or under the control of Dickey, is
immediately enjoined from certifying Grant’s name for placement on the general
primary election ballot until Huberty has exhausted his administrative or judicial
right of review.
34. Plaintiff does not wish to delay the progress of the 2018 primary election. Within
one week or less, the Harris County Republican Party will have made a decision as to whether
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Grant is eligible or not. Therefore, Plaintiff requests that the Court issue a temporary restraining
order and set this matter for a hearing on a temporary injunction within one week of the issuance
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(a) The Court enter:
(b) Defendants be cited to appear and answer herein and show cause why a temporary
injunction should not be issued according to the terms requested herein;
(c) Upon hearing, pending a trial on the merits, the Court order a permanent injunction
prohibiting Grant from running in the 2018 election for the Representative of District
127;
(d) The Court award Plaintiff all other relief at law or in equity to which it may show
itself justly entitled.
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Respectfully submitted by:
Jeffrey S. Davis
State Bar No. 00783936
Mike Stafford
State Bar No. 18996970
Katharine D. David
State Bar No. 24045749
Philip J. Morgan
State Bar No. 24069008
Ben Stephens
State Bar No. 24098472
2000 Wells Fargo Plaza
1000 Louisiana Street
Houston, Texas 77002
Phone: (713) 276-5500
Fax: (713) 276-5555
jdavis@gardere.com
mstafford@gardere.com
kdavid@gardere.com
pmorgan@gardere.com
bstephens@gardere.com
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I, Chris Daniel, District Clerk of Harris
County, Texas certify that this is a true and
correct copy of the original record filed and or
recorded in my office, electronically or hard
copy, as it appears on this date.
Witness my official hand and seal of office
this December 22, 2017