Managers of the Tarrant Regional Water District allowed a former employee to take over this year’s Oktoberfest festival but later reneged after she contracted for 1,000 kegs of German beer and other items, the former employee claims in a lawsuit.
Shanna Granger filed the claim this week in Tarrant County District Court. It seeks up to $1 million.
Granger is married to J.D. Granger who oversaw the development of the district’s Panther Island flood control project before leaving in April.
According to the lawsuit, Shanna Granger’s last day at the district was Nov. 19, 2021.
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Less than two weeks later, on Dec. 1, she applied to rent part of the Panther Island Pavilion for an Oktoberfest festival planned for this September.
Granger previously managed the event as a district employee.
The application was approved in March and TRWD managers were “overwhelmingly supportive” of the switch and no longer wanted to manage the event themselves, Granger said in the lawsuit.
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But last week, TRWD managers informed her they were rescinding the permit because of “concerns that it would appear too much like the Oktoberfest event that TRWD produced in 2021,” the lawsuit said.
Granger claimed she already had established relationships with a beer brewery, a beer distributor, a beer concessionaire, and nine German bands. She said she contracted to receive 1,000 kegs of beer from Germany that, “cannot be sold in this market without this event.”
The lawsuit names the Tarrant Regional Water District and three board members.
Chad Lorance, a TRWD spokesman, said the district had no immediate comment but might have a statement later after reviewing the lawsuit.
