Petition for Writ of Mandamus - Filed - Supreme Court of Texas

pretrial discovery and the scope of inquiry under these circumstances and within th e
current state of Texas law .
E .
RelatorsHaveNoAdequate RemedybyAppeal
Mandamus relief is justified in this case because an appellate court will not be abl e
to cure the trial court's error in permitting the unnecessary, invasive, and intrusiv e
discovery of irrelevant, private, and confidential financial information, prior even t o
presentation of sufficient allegations of gross negligence and factually specific pleading s
stating the acts or omissions constituting the objective and subjective prongs of gros s
negligence as required under Texas law .
Walker, 827 S .W.2d at 843 . Respondent abused
his discretion in ordering net worth discovery without the necessary factual allegations t o
support exemplary damages, and the court of appeals erred in concluding no clear abus e
of discretion occurred . Relators have no adequate remedy by appeal from these orders ,
and Relators are in real danger of permanently losing their important due process an d
privacy rights by having to disclose confidential financial information that goes beyon d
what is required under Texas law, and is irrelevant to the substantive merits of thi s
medical malpractice lawsuit .
VIII .
PRAYER FOR RELIE F
WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, Relators respectfully pray this
Court grant Relators' Petition, issue a writ of mandamus directing Respondent to vacate
the Orders of January 23 and 30, 2009, as well as the modification of those orders by the
court of appeals allowing net worth discovery to proceed, and to grant Relators all suc h
other and further relief as this Court deems just .
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