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At the hearing, the presiding judge decreed that the State of Texas has jurisdiction over the lawsuit. Tharpe had argued that since he does business in the State, it was proper and fair for the suit to be held there and the Judge agreed.
The court also ordered that the NWA brand name not be allowed to be sold, mortgaged or "used as collateral" during the course of the case.
It was also noted during the hearing that multiple iinvestigations into finances and alleged forgery of documents for the NWA and its parent company are "currently being conducted" by the FBI and the Charlotte – Mecklenburg Police Department in North Carolina.
Reynaldo G. Garza III, an attorney for the NWA, requested to be removed from the case and was granted that wish yesterday as well.
The lawsuit, filed by Tharpe this past January, allegesd that the NWA had been committing insurance fraud by having a policy that designated it covers gatherings for 100 people for members when obviously there have been NWA events drawing well over that amount. Tharpe claimed in the suit that the NWA willingly misrepresented themselves to their insurance company, putting Tharpe and others at risk legally while using the policy.
The lawsuit claimed that the NWA fraudulently induced members to join the organization, including Tharpe, by claiming that they would be covered by the NWA's insurance and that NWA Executive Director Bob Trobich (who is an attorney based out of North Carolina, which explains the involvement of NC authorities) led a conspiracy among NWA members by discussing this and pushing other officers to go along with the alleged fraud.
The suit also claimed that the Board of Directors, in conjunction with Trobich, threatened members with fines and ejection from the NWA if questions regarding the insurance were pushed.
Tharpe is seeking damages, although it notes in the filing that he does not seek a sum above $49,000.
When the lawsuit was filed in January, one NWA source believed it was Tharpe's very public attempt at a coup to force out Trobich and others and gain control of the NWA, in whatever form it still exists in 2012, and run the organization. The same source noted that Tharpe had attempted to get other members to side with him against Trobich and when that didn't happen, they were added to his lawsuit. The source cited that Tharpe was making noise that he was tired of seeing Trobich continue to do "nothing" with the brand, citing that only one member had regular TV (Dave Marquez in California) and that the organization had no strategy or force guiding it.
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