WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, blocking a politically motivated deposition by a former Office of the Attorney General (OAG) official. The plaintiffs sued for wrongful termination and attempted to weaponize the civil discovery process against Mr. Paxton by forcing him to give a deposition on matters unrelated to the merits of the employment case.
America First Legal (AFL) has repeatedly fought hard to protect our civil and criminal justice systems from acts like this, and along with AG Paxton, we have stood firm against this politically motivated lawsuit. On January 30, 2024, the AFL filed an amicus brief in a lower court seeking to force AG Paxton into an abusive and unfettered deposition on topics unrelated to the underlying wrongful termination lawsuit. argued that the decision was completely unreasonable under Texas law. That would set a disastrous precedent for expanding the scope of discovery. Furthermore, the AFL argued that the following decisions unduly allowed politics to intervene in the resolution of general employment and commercial disputes.
In its decision, the Texas Supreme Court stated that “the trial court did not “He abused his discretion in ordering the deposition.” Before issuing an order compelling a deposition, the benefit of the requested discovery and the corresponding burden or cost must be met. ” The Texas Supreme Court has “limited discovery in a court proceeding to information that could reasonably be expected to help resolve the dispute, and further limit discovery when the burden of discovery exceeds the anticipated benefit of the litigation.” The court ruled that discovery “must be relevant,” citing the long-standing rule that “the evidence must be relevant.” It focuses on the litigation itself, rather than any non-litigation objectives that may be advanced by expediting discovery. ”
Statement from Reid D. Rubinstein, America First Legal Senior Vice President:
“We are pleased with the Texas Supreme Court’s decision that civil discovery in wrongful termination cases must actually be related to the litigation itself. “The AFL is pleased to assist AG Paxton in this important case,” said Reed D. Rubinstein. Ta.
Read the decision here.
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Photo credit: Adobe Stock Images/Alexander Berdyugin
