Bradley Scott Billings is seeking up to $250,000 in his lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Waco’s 170th State District Court, against the Grand Lodge of Texas, Timothy P. Simmons, Lance Lawrence Kennedy, George Clay Smith, Howard Bart Henderson and Russell Clay Brown.
Billings, who served as grand master from January 2022 to January 2023, alleges that the manner in which theft charges were initiated against him within the lodge has denied him due process, are false and defamatory and could hurt his chances to be elected grand secretary of the Grand Lodge of Texas at its annual meeting this month.
[snip]
Billings alleges in his lawsuit that he met “great resistance” from lodge members during his tenure as grand master.
“As the highest officer of the Grand Lodge of Texas who was elected by an overwhelming majority as the leader of an organization of 60,000 Texas men, the plaintiff undertook efforts to energize his constituents, raise money for the various charities supported by the Grand Lodge, and to modernize the operations and practices of the Grand Lodge,” according to the lawsuit.
A masonic trial was set for Jan. 6, 2024, with Brown being appointed “trial master” by Smith, the current grand master. Kennedy was appointed “prosecutor,” the lawsuit states.
Billings alleges in the suit that the charges do not meet the “certainty requirements” under Texas law and don’t sufficiently provide him notice of the allegations against him.
“Specifically, it does not notify such required information as from whom he is supposed to have stolen money, the amount of money stolen, and how the money was supposed to be appropriated,” the lawsuit alleges.
The defendants denied discovery matters to Billings, overruled his objections to procedural errors and ruled that Billings’ masonic counsel was disqualified from representing him, according to the suit.
They also denied his request to postpone the “trial,” Billings alleges.
Besides damaging his reputation and possibly costing him election as grand secretary, Billings also alleges the “allegations and potential conviction” make him ineligible for holding office and may cost him his membership as a Texas mason.
“The plaintiff is at risk of being found guilty of theft in violation of Texas law by a non-court body that does not have jurisdiction under Texas law to make such findings,” the suit claims. “The plaintiff has the risk of all the potential ramifications of being found guilty of a crime of moral turpitude and even possibly of a felony offense by a non-court body that is violating all constitutional and statutory rights that the plaintiff enjoys under Texas law.”
When the reporter tried contacting the grand lodge or Billings' attorney, no one would comment, so nobody's sayin' nuthin...
As this and other publicized fights carry on, the effect on anyone thinking of joining can be imagined. As is said, a fraternity without brotherhood is making good men leave in disgust.
ReplyDeleteOk.. Slightly confused here.
ReplyDelete"at risk of being found guilty of theft in violation of Texas law by a non-court body that does not have jurisdiction under Texas law to make such findings"
How does Texas law even enter into this?
That shouldn't even be part of the allegations.
I brought up this same point to some brothers whom I was discussing this with... It's like Billings is alleging that the GL of TX is prosecuting him criminally instead of Masonically. That's a bad faith argument in my opinion.
DeleteGentlemen, I disagree. As a licensed attorney (albeit, not in Texas), it is possible that a transcript from a sworn proceeding be introduced in a civil or criminal trial later on. While I find much of the lawsuit to be lacking in merit (from what we know publicly), I would nonetheless have advised the brother to have counsel present.
DeleteThe current GL of Texas officers are a disgrace to the Craft and SHOULD be absolutely disgraced by the members of the craft. I hope they get their just dessert’s from the Grand West. They’ve spent an entire year and money chasing after the goings on of a PGM whose time is over in the East. They have to be absolutely butthurt he even was elected. What they should have done was moved on and moved the fraternity forward by advancing it with their own agenda and ideas. Everything they’re doing is a waste of time and counter productive. I can’t say I’ve ever had animosity or loathed a Grand officer like the one currently presiding down there. It horrible to even visit there now.
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