The Texas Supreme Court held Friday that state Attorney General Ken Paxton can avoid deposition in a years-long lawsuit brought against him by former employees since his office no longer contests the factual allegations of the suit.
The high court held that because the state attorney general no longer disputes the facts of the case, a deposition would not “aid the dispute’s resolution.” The court found that with no contest, “the burden or expense of the requested discovery outweighs the likely benefit in the litigation.”
The plaintiffs pointed out that damages remain an undecided issue and that because the legislature has expressed a desire to hear witness testimony before committing to any payment, party depositions remain necessary for a proper judgment. However, the court reasoned that the legislature can uncover this information on its own if it wishes. The court stated: “If, as plaintiffs assert, the Legislature will be unsatisfied with the trial court’s judgment and whatever evidence was presented in support of that judgment, the Legislature has at its disposal the means to obtain additional information.”
In January, the Texas Supreme Court denied Paxton’s request to avoid deposition and scheduled the proceeding for February 2024. Six days after the denial, Paxton’s office amended its legal position, electing to no longer contest any allegations made in the plaintiffs’ complaint. The revised answer claimed that, while the allegations against Paxton and his office are false, they would concede the facts of the case for the sake of expediency and taxpayer dollars.
Under the amended answer, Paxton filed a motion with the trial court to avoid deposition. The court denied the request, and Paxton appealed to the Texas Third Court of Appeals, which affirmed the trial court’s ruling and ultimately led to Paxton appealing to the Texas Supreme Court.
The 2021 suit alleged that Paxton violated the Texas Whistleblower Act, which aims to protect public employees who report violations from retaliation by their employer. The plaintiffs claimed that Paxton and other agency officials fired the employees after they reported Paxton to the FBI for abusing his office to benefit friend and campaign donor Nate Paul as well as a woman with whom Paxton had an extramarital affair. In early 2023, Paxton and the plaintiffs appeared to reach a $3.3 million settlement, which would have been funded by the Texas legislature. However, state legislators quickly turned on the deal and refused Paxton the money.
The scandal underpinning the lawsuit ultimately led the Texas House of Representatives to impeach Paxton in May 2023. The Texas Senate later acquitted him on all 16 charges. Following the acquittal, the Texas Supreme Court ordered the trial to resume and, hoping to avoid deposition, Paxton filed to have the case transferred to a more conservative county. However, the judge denied the request.
In addition to his impeachment and lawsuit, Paxton has recently received national attention for butting heads with the Biden Administration over immigration policy. In August, Paxton and a coalition of 14 other Republican-led states sued the Department of Homeland Security and multiple officials within the Biden administration, claiming their recent changes to US immigration policy were “blatantly illegal.”
