SAN ANTONIO — Jay Marc Harris, whose love for log flumes and water slides earned him the nickname “Flume Dog,” has lost his defamation case against Six Flags Fiesta Texas.

The 53-year-old former rabbi, who also calls himself “Flumie” and “The Great Flume,” sued Fiesta Texas after he was hit with a ban from all Six Flags properties nearly eight years ago.

In June 2006, security personnel ejected Harris from the Northwest Side theme park after he reportedly asked three mothers if he could “borrow” their children for a two-person ride. Based on reports from other parks, Six Flags executives later decided to ban Harris for life from the company's 16 properties across the nation.

Harris waited five years before suing Fiesta Texas and its Grand Prairie-based parent company in Bexar County Court, claiming the park discriminated against him based on gender and religion. The parties failed to reach an agreement in mediation in August, pushing the case to a jury trial that had been scheduled to start Monday.

But last week, Bexar County District Judge Richard Price issued an opinion letter siding with Six Flags and its request to award Harris nothing.

He had sought an injunction preventing Six Flags from barring him from its parks.

Gregory Canfield, a local attorney representing Harris, said his client has 30 days to decide whether he will appeal the judge's order.

“He was very disappointed,” Canfield said of Harris. “He's handling it as best as he can.”

Between 1985 and 2006, Harris, of New Haven, Conn., would buy a season pass and embark on a cross-country road trip, visiting every Six Flags theme park to ride and review their log flumes and water slides.

“There are other water parks — that's for sure,” Canfield said. “But after having been a patron to the Six Flags park system for over 20 years, that's his home away from home.

In court, Harris had hoped to convince a jury that Six Flags discriminated against him as a single male, claiming the park unfairly trusts a mother's story over his own. Canfield also alleged bias against Harris because of his nontraditional looks, noting his client has a long beard and wears a yarmulke in public.

Currently, Harris works as a seasonal employee for tax-preparation company H&R Block, but spends most of his days caring for his ailing mother.

Harris could not be reached for comment Monday, but in a previous message to the San Antonio Express-News, sent through Facebook, he described the June 2006 incident as a “tragic story in my life.”

“I'm the real defendant, although officially I'm a plaintiff,” Harris said. “A verdict in my favor will provide some relief, but the scars from their discriminatory policy of 'a girl whines, trash the guy' will scar me for life.”

According to court records, Six Flags employees have long complained about Harris.

Internal emails and statements show that he often requested a worker escort him around a park and take pictures of him enjoying the attractions and rides. Security staff also frequently found Harris in restricted areas and once discovered him chained to a tree, apparently sleeping overnight, on Six Flags property in Atlanta.

On June 19, 2006, one mother visiting Fiesta Texas told security guards that Harris approached her in a pool while she waited for her children. He asked if they could go on a ride with him and if she wouldn't mind taking a picture of them together.

A security officer said Harris approached another mother and asked “if he could borrow her son to go on a ride.” She told him to ride by himself, and he responded, “I prefer a young boy” to join him, the officer's statement reads.

Harris and his lawyer said the women misunderstood his intentions.

In his deposition, Harris said his religious beliefs prevent him from riding with a female. He also said his preference to ride with a male guest shouldn't be interpreted as illicit intent on his part.

“I wouldn't even say young boy,” he said, as quoted in the deposition transcript. “I would just say I needed — I may have said a boy versus a girl. I didn't want to explain that.”

Fiesta Texas declined to comment on the case but in court defended its decision to ban Harris for life.

“The decision to eject (Harris) from Fiesta Texas and to ban him from the park was not based at all on religion or gender,” the company said, “but was based on legitimate guest complaints and on the cumulative effect of (his) history of disruptive or harassing behavior.”

nmorton@express-news.net

Twitter: @nealtmorton