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By Patrick Svitek
The Texas Tribune
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A Travis County district choose has ordered Legal professional Normal Ken Paxton and three prime aides to take a seat for depositions within the 3-year-old whistleblower lawsuit in opposition to him.
At a listening to Wednesday in Austin, Choose Jan Soifer granted the whistleblowers’ movement to compel the depositions of Paxton; Brent Webster, the primary assistant lawyer basic; Lesley French Henneke, chief of employees on the company; and Michelle Smith, Paxton’s longtime political aide.
Paxton himself was coincidentally served earlier within the day at a restaurant in Austin, in response to a whistleblower lawyer, Tom Nesbitt.
“On this case, I imagine the plaintiffs have proven good trigger that these 4 individuals have distinctive and superior data of discoverable info,” Soifer mentioned from the bench, including that the 4 individuals had been “not simply figureheads” however individuals who knew about points “on the coronary heart” of the case.
The whistleblowers requested the courtroom final month to drive Paxton and his aides to take a seat for depositions. They mentioned their submitting was a final resort after they may not attain an settlement with legal professionals for the Workplace of the Legal professional Normal.
It stays to be seen if Paxton’s facet will additional combat the depositions. His workplace’s lawyer, Invoice Helfand, declined to remark to reporters as he left the courthouse.
“They misplaced badly,” Nesbitt instructed reporters after the listening to. “I don’t put something previous Ken Paxton. There’s no restrict to the quantity of taxpayer cash he’ll spend to cover from accountability, so I’m positive they’ll attempt some type of attraction.”
The whistleblowers are 4 former prime deputies — Blake Brickman, Ryan Vassar, David Maxwell and Mark Penley — who sued Paxton in 2020, arguing he improperly fired them after they reported him to the FBI. They alleged he was abusing his workplace to assist a rich pal and donor, Nate Paul.
They got here near settling with Paxton for $3.3 million in February, however the Texas Home balked at utilizing taxpayer {dollars} for the determine and determined to analyze the underlying claims. That triggered Paxton’s impeachment by the Home in Might. The Senate acquitted him after a trial in September.
The whistleblowers sought to restart their lawsuit after the impeachment verdict, and the Texas Supreme Courtroom cleared the best way for them to take action. However Paxton’s workplace rapidly fought the revived lawsuit in Travis County, suing the whistleblowers in neighboring Burnet County to dam it.
Paxton’s legal professionals misplaced in Burnet County and have since deserted that lawsuit.
Soifer dominated in opposition to Paxton’s facet earlier within the listening to, rejecting their movement to implement the tentative settlement settlement. It had been their newest effort to successfully shut down the case in Travis County by arguing it was already settled.
They’ve made that argument regardless of the Legislature nonetheless not approving the $3.3 million, one of many provisions of the settlement.
“It says [it] in plain English,” Soifer mentioned.
When it got here to the depositions, Nesbitt argued Paxton’s testimony was particularly related. His workplace has publicly mentioned Paxton is the “decision-maker” for the hiring and firing of workers.
“Ken Paxton made these selections,” Nesbitt mentioned, telling Soifer that it’s just about extraordinary for somebody to argue in an employment case that the “decision-maker … by some means doesn’t have particular data, doesn’t have distinctive data.”
Helfand argued the 4 individuals had been protected by the apex doctrine, a authorized doctrine that seeks to guard high-level executives from overzealous litigants. Helfand instructed Soifer she ought to order the whistleblowers to hunt depositions from different individuals first, and if these don’t yield the knowledge they need, they may then deal with the query of deposing Paxton and the three aides.
Helfand appeared to anticipate an unfavorable ruling and proactively requested Soifer that if she had been to order the depositions, they need to be “severely restricted” in time and scope. He additionally mentioned he would need to depose the plaintiffs first as a result of they carry the burden of proof within the case.
Soifer appeared to reject each requests in her ruling, saying she would enable the depositions by the whistleblowers first and was “not inclined to place any limitations on these depositions.”
The timing of the depositions stays to be seen. After the ruling, Helfand requested the choose if the depositions might wait till after the third week of January, citing private scheduling conflicts. Nesbitt mentioned their facet was OK with that.
As for Paxton’s deposition, Nesbitt mentioned it was a coincidence that he was served on the identical day of the listening to.
“We’ve been looking for him for a very long time,” Nesbitt mentioned. I imply, the dude hides. … And so we lastly discovered him. We bought a tip that he was going to be at a restaurant at a specific time.”
Nesbitt didn’t title the restaurant the place Paxton was served. He mentioned Paxton was having “some type of little vacation lunch” when it occurred.
This text initially appeared in The Texas Tribune.
The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and fascinating Texans on state politics and coverage. Study extra at texastribune.org.
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