Travel Club Cleans Up Act, But That’s Not Stopping Lawsuit
I’d heard rumblings from some corners that the Texas Attorney General’s office was temporarily shelving its suit against travel club All Inclusive Excursions (aka Royal Palms Travel) which, the lawsuit alleges, lured customers to presentations with promises of free gifts, then bilked them of thousands of dollars.
But, per AG spokesman Tom Kelley, the lawsuit isn’t going anywhere. The office is foregoing the temporary injunction it was seeking to keep AIE from doing business since, Kelly says, the company seems to be operating aboveboard. It appears to have closed its Fort Worth and San Antonio offices, and it’s only doing minor travel reservations, Kelley said.
“For practical purposes, we do not need a temporary injunction in place. We have not had any complaints additionally come in, and it’s just proceeding as litigation does proceed,” he said.
Frank Morrone, the retired Windsor Park obstetrician whom I wrote about for Preston Hollow People‘s March 5 cover story on AIE/Royal Palms, had been trying to recover the $7,593 he gave the company for months. Since the suit was filed, he and other AIE customers have received refunds.
“The curious thing is, about a week or so after the lawsuit was filed–and I was named as one of the people to be a witness–we got a phone call from them, which my wife fielded,” Morrone said. “They said ‘We understand you’re unhappy, and we will be happy to refund your money.’ Now, why they hadn’t done that since last July, I don’t know.”
No trial date has been set, but Kelley said the AG’s office will continue to pursue the case.
“They’ve [AIE] got tentacles out all over the place, so by no means are we done with this–by no stretch,” Kelley said. “We’re going to see it all the way through.”
