In re Ford Motor Company and Ken Stoepel Ford, Inc.

Summary

The Supreme Court of Texas conditionally granted mandamus relief in a design-defect case involving a request to depose corporate representatives of two testifying experts' employers. The court held that the requested discovery into the experts' potential bias was impermissible under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure because it sought broad financial and business information beyond the permitted methods of expert discovery. The court directed the trial court to vacate its discovery order.

Holdings

1. On the facts of this case, the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure did not permit Morales to depose corporate representatives of the experts' employers to investigate the experts' potential bias.
2. Walker v. Packer did not require the requested employer depositions because the facts did not show that either expert's credibility had been impugned by extrinsic evidence discovered after the expert's deposition.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure permitted Morales to obtain corporate-representative depositions of the employers of Ford's testifying experts after deposing the experts themselves.
2. Whether the circumstances justified discovery beyond the disclosures, expert reports, and oral depositions specified in Rule 195.

Disposition

writ_granted