$100M lawsuit filed in battle over Republican governor nomination
A company run by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and his family is seeking at least $100 million from billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson in a libel lawsuit as the two men head to a runoff for the Republican nomination for governor of Georgia.
Jones Petroleum filed the case this week in Fulton County Superior Court, taking issue with Jackson’s campaign material that suggests the company is profiting off a criminal racketeering enterprise, among other things.
Jones Petroleum is the sole stockholder of a company called Convenience Stores Inc. That company is licensed to operate coin-operated amusement machines in Georgia.
According to the lawsuit, an advertisement and associated website published by Jackson falsely portrays the company as operating an illegal casino.
The company said in its complaint that it continues to be damaged each minute the defamatory material remains publicly available. It said the harm caused by Jackson and his campaign exceeds $100 million and threatens franchise agreements, which may be terminated if others think the company is engaging in illegal, criminal or otherwise unacceptable behavior.
“Mr. Jackson and his campaign have published blatantly false and defamatory statements about this company and its 2,500 employees,” Jones Petroleum general counsel Clyde “Trey” Copeland said Friday. “We gave them the opportunity to retract these statements, and they chose not to, forcing us to file the referenced lawsuit.”
Chase Potter, lead counsel for Jackson and his campaign in the matter, said the claims are baseless and retaliatory and should be dismissed.
“It is sad that Burt Jones apparently still needs his daddy to fight his battles for him,” Potter said Friday.
Copeland said the company intends to have its claims decided by a Fulton County jury, regardless of the outcome of the Republican primary for governor.
This isn’t the first defamation lawsuit stemming from the campaign battle between Jackson, a political newcomer, and Jones, the state’s No. 2 elected official.
In early March, Jackson sued Jones and his campaign for defamation and libel, claiming they falsely accused him of making his fortune by recruiting for Planned Parenthood and helping doctors perform transgender procedures on minors.
Jones and his campaign have sought to dismiss that case, arguing it “fails to get out of the gate.”
The lawsuit by Jones Petroleum was first filed in late March but was dismissed for lack of service, court records show. It was filed anew Thursday.
The company says Jackson and his campaign falsely accused Jones of voting through “corrupt means” to legalize the coin-operated gambling machine industry in Georgia. It said Jones was not a state lawmaker in 1992 when the relevant legislation was first enacted.
Jones Petroleum said Jackson’s campaign advertising also featured “an image with a fake sign outside a gas station with the JP logo atop a sign that says ‘Lucky Stop Casino.’”
The company said the Jackson campaign accused it of benefiting off corruption and bribery under Georgia’s racketeering law. It wants the court to force Jackson and his campaign to remove the material at issue and publish a retraction, among other things.
About the Author
Journalist Rosie Manins is a senior courts and legal affairs reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
