NW Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Supreme Court declining to step in on Gulfside’s case, Excerpts:
The Arkansas Supreme Court will not bar the Racing Commission from issuing a Pope County casino license, nor will it force a Pulaski County circuit judge to expedite a case brought by a Mississippi gaming operator…
“The Jan. 6 meeting will proceed as planned as no court has issued an injunction that would affect this event,” said Scott Hardin, a spokesman for the state Department of Finance and Administration, which oversees the commission.
In its plea to the Supreme Court, Gulfside said that Fox’s threat to put the case on the back burner “would result in a gross miscarriage of justice, and deny Gulfside due process.”
“Gulfside has no other remedy, let alone an adequate remedy,” Castleberry said in a Dec. 23 court filing. “If Judge Fox carries out his intentions stated on November 25 — refusing to issue any orders in this case until all his older cases have been resolved — then it will be well into 2021 or 2022 before Gulfside receives any rulings on its pending motions. This delay could seriously undercut Gulfside’s legal claims and deny Gulfside due process.”
Fox has not responded to any letters or filings in the case, nor has he scheduled a hearing.
Monday’s Supreme Court ruling denied Gulfside’s requests to order Fox to accept the case in his court and to rule on its pending motions in a timely manner.
In its latest lawsuit, filed in Pulaski County Circuit Court and assigned to Circuit Judge Chip Welch, Citizens for a Better Pope County argues that the Racing Commission’s rules allow for a second window of applications only if no applications were received in the first round.
Ben Cross, county judge of Pope County, said Monday that he will continue to honor and respect the “legal system as the merits of each case are litigated.”
“I respect the Supreme Court’s decision to relegate their involvement back to the circuit court and deny the temporary restraining order sought by Gulfside. I hope this action expedites the overall process to a quicker resolution.”