Craddick Moves to Keep Deposition Private
The week before the 2007 session ended, House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, and Republican power-lobbyist Bill Messer were sued by a Dallas travel company owner, who claimed the Speaker abused his power in trying to get his money back over a fishing trip that Craddick and Messer couldn't reschedule. See my May 2007 story here.
In a letter signed "Speaker Tom Craddick", Craddick and Messer wrote: "There are clearly exceptional circumstances, and therefore we demand a full refund to be made to each of us in order to avoid legal action or embarrassment to your reputation."
The suit came at a sensitive time for the Speaker, just two days before the attempted coup on the House floor. Critics of the speaker said it was another example of the Speaker's bullying tactics to get things done.
On March 27th, both Craddick and Messer are scheduled for depositions on this suit. But a motion filed by Craddick's Dallas attorneys seeks to keep those depositions out of the realm of politics, and out of public view. In part, it says:
Defendants request that this Court enter a protective order restricting Plaintiff's counsel's inquiries into matters directly related to the allegations made in the lawsuit; that Plaintiff's counsel be instructed to refrain from any political comments, from questioning either of the Defendant's politics, from asking questions relating to anythign other than the fishing trip and the failure to make a refund. Defendants further request that the deposition of each Defendant be limited to one hour, which should be sufficient to discuss fully the limited fact scenario surrounding the fishing trip, its cancelation, and the failure to refund the deposit. Defendants further request that Plaintiff and its counsel be instructed that they cannot distribute the deposition, the deposition videotape, or information contained in the deposition to the media...Craddick and Messer have also filed a counterclaim to try and get the refund for the trip that didn't happen.
I'll have a full story tonight at ten, we just wrapped up an interview with the plaintiff's attorney, Kevin Buchanan, in Dallas. I've talked to Craddick attorney Roy Minton, but he says he's not involved in this part of the case. A call to Craddick's Dallas attorney (who filed the motion) has yet to be returned.
DOCUMENTS:
Download the motion here.
The original lawsuit (filed May 2007, Craddick's letter to the agent is on page 8.)
Craddick's counterclaim (filed this month)
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