AUSTIN - Attorney General Paxton will look to the Texas Supreme Court to stop depositions from going forward in litigation brought by four former employees, according to a press release.
On Jan. 18, the Office of the Attorney General announced that it was moving on from an employment lawsuit asserting the same issues Paxton faced in the impeachment trial.
According to Paxton’s press release, the OAG had made the determination that the bad-faith efforts to prolong legal proceedings are an unjustifiable waste of taxpayer resources and an intolerable distraction.
Six days later, Paxton issued another press release, “denouncing” a trial court’s alleged bias in the litigation.
Paxton had filed motions challenging the judge’s ruling that depositions must proceed even after all facts were conceded and the defendant withdrew its opposition to the case.
“Today (Jan. 24), the judge denied the OAG’s motion to reconsider her earlier order,” the press release states. “By doing so, the court is recklessly disregarding legal precedent, abusing the litigation system, and displaying shocking bias in an apparent effort to prolong this political charade and interfere with the day-to-day business of the Texas Attorney General’s office.”
On Friday, Paxton issued another press release, stating that the OAG had requested “the Third Court of Appeals step in to put a stop to a Travis County judge’s lawless orders requiring unnecessary and harassing depositions in a case brought by four disgruntled employees.”
The Third Court denied relief, leading Paxton to issue another press release on Sunday stating the OAG will seek relief from the Texas Supreme Court “to vindicate its right to choose not to defend a meritless but expensive and time-consuming case in a biased and unfavorable trial court, as defendants routinely do.”
In seeking review, the OAG will ask the Supreme Court simply to treat the OAG the same as any other litigant who chooses not to contest a lawsuit, the press release states.