Office of the Attor­ney Gen­er­al Files Man­damus Request­ing Review of Judge’s Rul­ing In Lit­i­ga­tion with For­mer Employees

Last night, the Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”) 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. 

Last week, the OAG made the same tactical decision that countless defendants make every day across America when facing a meritless but expensive lawsuit in an unfavorable and biased court. In order to avoid the unnecessary time, expense, and distraction of a lawsuit brought by a handful of former employees, the OAG chose—without conceding fault—not to contest the former employees’ lawsuit. That decision is unremarkable, as the vast majority of cases in civil litigation are resolved without ever going to trial. 

What is remarkable is that, unlike a typical case in which the plaintiffs hope their target will choose not to contest their case, these former employees refused to accept the OAG’s decision not to contest their lawsuit. In pursuing their interminable and well-documented personal vendetta, they revealed they have no interest in resolving this case—their only objective is to abuse the civil litigation process to harass the OAG.

The eyes of the nation are upon Texas. Standing aside Governor Greg Abbott, the OAG is the first line of legal defense against Joe Biden’s open-borders doctrine, and the stakes have never been higher. Texas’s sovereignty, and the safety and security of all Texans, is on the line as an unprecedented wave of illegal immigrants continues to flood across our border, aided by the Biden administration. The OAG will play a pivotal role in this moment of our history. As such, the agency has chosen to forego its defense of an employment lawsuit that affects only four of Texas’s 30 million residents so the OAG’s attorneys—the best and brightest in the State—can focus on what truly matters to all Texans without the continued cost and distraction of this wasteful sideshow. 

The Third Court of Appeals should do what the Travis County trial court could not: put partisanship aside and uphold the rule of law by fairly treating the OAG—a state agency—the same as any other litigant who exercises their right not to contest a lawsuit. 

To read the OAG filing, click here.