The city of Donna, Texas, is in Rio Grande Valley – the very southernmost tip of Texas – just a few miles east of McAllen. The city is being sued over a 2017 campaign event hosted by a then mayoral candidate at a property owned by the city of about 15,000 residents.
Violation of broadcast license alleged
G&G Closed Circuit Events LLC alleges that Donna, former mayoral candidate Ernesto Lugo and a campaign worker violated its exclusive broadcast license for a pay-per-view boxing match when the fight was shown at Lugo’s campaign event. The company says the fight broadcast was unauthorized and that it was not paid required fees.
In its lawsuit filed in federal court, G&G seeks $170,000, plus attorneys’ fees.
In the suit, G&G says “the closed-circuit broadcast of the Event was not intended for the use of the general public. In Texas, the closed-circuit broadcast of the event could only be exhibited in a commercial establishment accessible to the general public, if the establishment was contractually authorized to do so by Plaintiff.”
In their response to the suit, Lugo and Ozuna claim the complaint was filed after the statute of limitations expired. They also state that they “acted in good faith.” In addition, the defendants asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit and award them attorneys’ fees.
As of early December, the city of Donna had not yet responded to the lawsuit.
Asked about the suit on Dec. 9, City Attorney Javier Villalobos said he didn’t know about it, but that he would find out and prepare a response.
