Last week, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, blocking depositions by former Office of the Attorney General employees. The plaintiffs had sued for wrongful termination and sought to have AG Paxton deposed on matters unrelated to their employment case.
America First Legal (AFL) supported AG Paxton, arguing against the lower court's decision. AFL filed an amicus brief on January 30, 2024, stating that compelling AG Paxton to sit for a deposition on irrelevant topics was unwarranted under Texas law and would set a precedent expanding discovery scope. AFL also contended that the ruling improperly introduced politics into resolving employment disputes.
The Texas Supreme Court held that "the trial court abused its discretion in ordering the depositions" as they were not relevant to any contested fact issue. The court emphasized longstanding rules limiting discovery to information aiding dispute resolution and stated that discovery should "relate to the litigation itself, not to non-litigation objectives."
Reed D. Rubinstein, America First Legal Senior Vice President, commented: “We are gratified by the Texas Supreme Court’s ruling. Civil discovery in a wrongful termination case should actually relate to the litigation itself; such discovery should not be viewed as if it were merely a variant of the more generalized power of legislative inquisition. AFL is pleased to have supported AG Paxton in this important case.”