RICHMOND, Texas (Covering Katy News) — By the time Fort Bend County Commissioners Court publicly rejected a motion on June 25 to proceed without Daniel Wong serving as its presiding officer, a new lawsuit filed by Wong against Fort Bend County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson alleges a multi-day effort to remove the Republican county judge from office had already begun.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare that Wong remains the lawful county judge and to prohibit Smith-Lawson from taking further actions based on her legal opinion while the dispute is resolved.
According to the lawsuit and the public record, questions about Wong's authority surfaced in the media days before Commissioners Court met. The lawsuit alleges county officials began removing Wong from county systems, Commissioner Dexter McCoy publicly called on him to vacate the office, and Commissioner Grady Prestage allegedly attempted to persuade Wong not to preside over Commissioners Court—all before the public vote.
The timing is significant because Republican Commissioner Andy Meyers later said he first learned of Smith-Lawson's legal opinion "through the media, not the County Attorney."
In a statement released after the June 25 meeting, Meyers said:
"Unfortunately, I first learned about this matter through the media, not the County Attorney."
Meyers continued:
"Based on the news reports that I've read, apparently, the County Attorney worked with only select members of Commissioners Court on this issue for days instead of keeping all members of the court informed and up to date in a timely manner."
Whether that occurred is not resolved by Wong's lawsuit. The sequence of events, however, provides context for Meyers' criticism.
June 17: The Appointment Remains in Place
The sequence begins June 17, when Sarah Roberts filed a notice of nonsuit dismissing the Chapter 87 civil removal case against former County Judge KP George.
Later that day, the district court signed an order dismissing the case with prejudice, meaning the Chapter 87 removal lawsuit was permanently dismissed and cannot be refiled.
Wong's lawsuit argues that while the removal lawsuit ended, nothing in either filing vacated the April 10 order appointing him county judge. The petition contends the appointment remained in effect and that Article XVI, Section 17 of the Texas Constitution required Wong to continue serving until a successor was legally qualified.
June 23: Wong's Status Becomes a Public Story
Two days before Commissioners Court met, Wong's status became the subject of public news coverage.
On June 23, the Houston Press published an article headlined "Is Daniel Wong Out as Fort Bend County Judge?" quoting Democratic Commissioner Dexter McCoy.
According to the article, McCoy said he expected Democratic County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson to issue a legal opinion before the June 25 Commissioners Court meeting. McCoy also said he expected Democratic District Attorney Brian Middleton to issue a legal opinion.
Smith-Lawson issued her opinion the following day.
As of publication of this article, Middleton has not publicly issued a legal opinion regarding Wong's status.
On June 24, KTRK-TV also reported on Wong's status, citing McCoy.
Those reports appeared before Commissioners Court met to publicly debate Wong's status and vote on whether to proceed without him serving as presiding officer.
June 24: Internal Actions Begin
The petition states that on June 24 Smith-Lawson emailed department heads advising them that Wong:
"no longer holds the legal authority to act as County Judge and is not an employee of Fort Bend County."
The memorandum directed department leaders to terminate Wong's employment, revoke his county badge—effectively preventing him from accessing locked buildings and rooms, including his own office—disable his access to county computer systems, and begin standard offboarding procedures. The petition also alleges that Wong was deliberately excluded from the email distribution.
Exhibit F attached to the lawsuit shows Smith-Lawson emailed the memorandum to commissioners and county officials at 5:01 p.m. on June 24—after the close of the business day and less than 24 hours before Commissioners Court met. Wong was not included on the distribution list.
Public Statements Continue
The petition states McCoy issued a press release June 24 urging Wong to "follow the law and immediately vacate" the office of county judge.
Later that day, the petition states, Prestage telephoned Wong and:
"attempted to threaten and intimidate him into staying away from Commissioners Court so that Prestage could himself preside over the body."
According to the sequence outlined in the petition, all of those events occurred before Commissioners Court met the following morning.
June 25: The Public Meeting
Before Commissioners Court convened, Wong's attorneys sent Smith-Lawson a letter arguing the April 10 appointment remained legally effective and that the Texas Constitution required Wong to continue serving until a successor was qualified.
Smith-Lawson responded before the meeting, maintaining her legal position and warning that actions taken while Wong presided could be challenged under the Texas Open Meetings Act.
Wong opened the June 25 Commissioners Court meeting as presiding officer.
Upon McCoy's request, Smith-Lawson read her legal opinion into the public record. Prestage then moved to proceed without Wong serving as presiding officer.
The motion failed.
Prestage and McCoy then walked out of the meeting after declaring it illegal, while Wong continued conducting county business with a quorum present.
The petition further notes that Smith-Lawson later refused to provide legal advice during executive session because of her position regarding Wong's status.
Why the Timing Matters
The court will ultimately decide whether Wong legally remained county judge after the removal case against George was dismissed.
But the sequence of events raises a second question.
Rather than beginning when Commissioners Court convened on June 25, the public dispute over Wong's authority had already unfolded over several days. Questions about Wong's status appeared in the media. Smith-Lawson issued a legal opinion declaring his appointment had ended. County officials were directed to begin offboarding Wong from county government. McCoy publicly called on Wong to vacate the office. The petition alleges Prestage telephoned Wong in an effort to persuade him not to preside over Commissioners Court.
All of those events occurred before Commissioners Court met to publicly debate Wong's status and rejected a motion to proceed without him serving as presiding officer.
As the lawsuit moves forward, the court will determine whether Wong legally remained county judge after the Chapter 87 removal case against former County Judge KP George ended. But the sequence of events also raises another question—not simply whether Wong remained county judge, but when county officials concluded he no longer was, and what actions followed before Commissioners Court publicly considered the issue.
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