Attorney General Ken Paxton
AUSTIN – The Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”) has appealed a recent ruling in a case involving former agency employees, noting that the decision would cripple the state’s ability to settle lawsuits.
Texas respects parties’ settled agreements and favors efficient and cost-effective ways to resolve litigation. Texas courts have an obligation to enforce certain voluntary agreements between parties, such as the agreement at issue in Office of the Attorney General of Texas v. James Blake Brickman et al. The OAG reached an agreement with the former employees nearly a year ago and continues to honor the agency’s obligations. However, the trial court ignored the mediated agreement and has permitted these litigants to seek unlimited and unprecedented discovery in an already-settled case. Doing so hurts all Texans. It vitiates the certainty litigants should expect in settlement negotiations, and it burdens the judicial system by forcing courts and parties to spend time, money, and resources continuing to litigate their claims—the very costs most litigants pursue settlement to avoid. The OAG is appealing the trial court’s ruling to protect Texans’ rights in seeking cost-effective options for settling legal disputes and urges the reviewing court to honor such an agreement in this instance.
