A district judge in Texas has ruled that the so-called “whistleblowers” lawsuit against Attorney General Ken Paxton can move forward.
Burnet County Judge Evan Stubbs’ ruling on Tuesday comes a week after he granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) requested by Mr. Paxton’s office. The TRO placed a pause on discovery or other actions in the yearslong case that had been tentatively settled in February.
“The Court, having considered the motions and the responses on file and having convened a hearing on the motions, is of the opinion that the motions should be denied,” wrote Judge Stubbs, according to the court document obtained by The Epoch Times.
The court’s decision paves the way for the revived lawsuit brought against the attorney general by four former top aides to resume.
Mr. Paxton says that reviving the fired employees’ case against him is a violation of the tentative settlement reached earlier this year. He also recently filed a lawsuit in Burnet County challenging the revived lawsuit in Travis County.
“Texas law is clear that settlement agreements should be enforced,” Mr. Paxton told The Texas Tribune in a statement last week. “If plaintiffs are allowed to disregard their statements with the State, the important work of my office, and litigation for state agencies across Texas, would be significantly impaired.”
Paxton’s legal team accused the fired OAG staffers of trying to undo a final agreement, which also included an apology from Mr. Paxton for calling them “rogue employees” in a press release after they sued him.
“If it were truly, actually, and finally settled, “Judge Stubbs said. ”Then I don’t think we'd be here.”
The original lawsuit, filed in November 2020, accuses Mr. Paxton of wrongful firing after reporting their boss to the FBI for alleged abuse of power and other accusations.
Tentative Settlement
In February, the parties reached a tentative $3.3 million settlement. Mr. Paxton then asked the Texas Legislature to fund the agreement.Mr. Paxton’s lawyers argued that Judge Stubbs should grant their client’s request for a temporary injunction of the Travis County case.
Following Mr. Paxton’s payout request, a House committee secretly launched an investigation into allegations against Mr. Paxton. Just days after the investigation was brought to light, the House speedily impeached the state’s top lawyer on 20 articles of impeachment. He was immediately suspended from office without pay.
The House has not yet approved the settlement payout.
In September, after eight days of testimony, a Senate jury acquitted Mr. Paxton on 16 impeachment articles and dismissed four that were held in abeyance.
Shortly after his acquittal, the former OAG employees vowed to continue their fight against Mr. Paxton.
Later the same month, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, allowing them to revive the case against the state’s top lawyer.
After more than four hours, Judge Stubbs denied Mr. Paxton’s request for a temporary injunction.
“I’m not saying you can’t go forward with your case in Travis County,” Mr. Stubbs told the lawyers representing the fired employees, the Texas Tribune reported. The judge added that another judge might not agree.
Mr. Paxton’s lawyer, Bill Helfand, argued that his client was complying with the terms of the tentative settlement and that the fired employees were unhappy with the outcome of the impeachment trial.
“Now, that’s an abuse of a lawsuit,” the lawyer said.
Mr. Helfand did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.
Mr. Vassar’s attorney Joe Knight, said the settlement is not resolved since his client and the others in the case have not yet received any payment.
Ultimately, the judge denied the temporary injunction. A separate hearing is set for Dec. 14 regarding a motion, which was filed by the fired employees, requesting a change of venue from Burnet County to Travis County in the legal challenge filed by Mr. Paxton.
