A federal lawsuit filed in October 2017 by John Winston Forrester and six other plaintiffs against Wood County and seven individuals is slated to go to trial on March 25 in Tyler before U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III. Five days are set aside for the trial.

Along with Wood County, the suit names former Sheriff James A. Brown, who has filed a countersuit, as well as Miles Tucker, Kelly Smith, Kevin Atkinson, Stephen Cates, and John Hammack, all former Brown subordinates. Also named is Jerry Wayne Boone, who is serving prison time for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Boone shot Forrester and his father, John Phillip Forrester, in early November 2015 as the Forresters and five others were attempting to access a disputed oil lease on Brown’s property north of Quitman.

The suit alleges “almost unfathomable abuse of the public trust” by Wood County, Brown, and several sheriff deputies. The lawsuit claims that Brown and his deputies engaged in a campaign of “harassment, intimidation and abuse” against Forrester, who was attempting to gain access to an oil well lease so he could recover millions of dollars worth of equipment stranded in the mud. The suit claims a litany of misconduct on the part of Brown and his men that culminated the morning of Nov. 2, 2015.

The lawsuit alleges the following: The two Forresters and five associates set out for the oil lease and opened a gate to a road leading to the well. Jerry Boone, who owned land adjacent to Brown’s, began yelling and screaming profanities at the party. Boone went to his trailer and returned with a 9mm pistol, which he pointed at Forrester. Boone told Forrester that he had spoken with Brown and had been authorized to stop Forrester’s access “by any means necessary.” Boone ultimately fired his gun, striking the elder Forrester in the lower leg. Boone then stood over him with the gun pointed at the elder Forrester’s head. In an attempt to distract him, the younger Forrester shouted at Boone, who turned and fired at the younger Forrester, hitting him in the back. After being shot, the younger Forrester retreated to his truck. Boone then began firing at other members of the party, three of whom suffered injuries while fleeing. At one point, Boone held his gun to the head of a man in the party and ordered him to leave. While in his truck bleeding, the younger Forrester called 9-1-1 and reached the Wood County Sheriff’s Office. Several deputies arrived on the scene and did nothing. They refused to arrest Boone “despite multiple instances of attempted murder.”

Later in November 2015, Brown and others put up barriers across the road to the oil well, the suit alleges. In December 2015, Forrester alleges, someone sabotaged an oil flow line from the well, diverting it from storage tanks to a nearby pond.

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount for actual damages, pain and suffering, mental anguish, medical care, as well as exemplary and punitive damages.

Meanwhile, the defendants are seeking dismissal of the case through summary judgment, meaning they’ve asked Schroeder to find the lawsuit without merit, which would forgo the need for a trial.

For his part, Brown has filed a countersuit, which alleges the following: The Forresters attempted to “bully their way across property owned by Brown and others that was never within the boundaries of the old mineral lease and through which the Forresters had no right of access.” When met with opposition, the younger Forrester “maliciously” prosecuted a civil suit against Brown and the property owners, which was ultimately terminated in favor of Brown. Nevertheless, the Forresters continued to claim rights under an expired lease and to trespass onto Brown’s land.

The counteraction seeks actual and exemplary damages for malicious prosecution, a declaration that the lease in question was terminated before being acquired by Forrester and that the Forresters have no right, title or interest in the lease, a declaration that the Forresters have no right to enter Brown’s property, and attorney and court fees.