May 24 – May 30, 2025
1 opinion this week
Supreme Court of Texas
The Supreme Court of Texas held the trial court erred in prematurely enjoining the Attorney General from pursuing records and filing a quo warranto action against Annunciation House: The Attorney General has the constitutional authority to file the proposed quo warranto and the injunctions were premature. The court confined its decision to that threshold question and remanded for the litigation to proceed on the merits, leaving open the substantive defenses (including RFRA and constitutional claims).
Litigation Takeaway
“Although this case arises in a civic enforcement context, its procedural and discovery holdings carry immediate implications for family-law practice: (1) courts should be wary of issuing broad pre-filing or precompliance injunctions against statutory investigatory processes absent a developed record; (2) third-party record requests directed at nonprofits, faith-based organizations, or shelters that intersect with family disputes (custody, domestic violence shelters, hidden-asset investigations) require careful navigation of statutory authority, privilege and religious-liberty claims; and (3) the decision underscores the tactical importance of timely legal response, protective orders, and properly framed jurisdictional and constitutional challenges rather than premature summary judgment on facial constitutional grounds.”