A U.S. District Court in Amarillo, Texas, denied motions...

Hastings with Draw Another Circle and Hendrix Acquisition Corp. (CED March 18 p7) was filed on behalf of Hastings shareholders March 28. On May 28, the plaintiffs filed a motion for expedited discovery and a motion for a temporary restraining order to enjoin the proposed transaction from closing. On May 30, the court issued an order under which Hastings was restricted from consummating the merger before June 12, the date for a scheduled hearing (CED June 3 p8). But evidence introduced at the hearing on the motions did not establish that the plaintiffs would suffer “irreparable injury” if relief weren’t granted, Judge Mary Lou Robinson said in her decision Thursday. The plaintiffs also didn’t show that there was a “substantial likelihood of success on the merits” in the case, or that other interested parties wouldn’t “suffer substantial harm” if a restraining order were granted until a trial on the merits could be held, she said. Hastings believes the lawsuit was “improperly and prematurely filed” under Texas law and that the claims alleged in it were “factually incorrect and deficient as a matter of law,” it said Friday. Hastings will “vigorously dispute these claims throughout the life” of the litigation, it said. A special stockholders meeting to vote on the merger will be held July 15, it said.