Stanley Jampole, Relator v. Hon. Hugo Touchy, Respondent

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court granted a writ of mandamus, finding that the trial court clearly abused its discretion by denying discovery of alternate fuel‑system design documents and assembly drawings, and ordered the trial judge to vacate those denials. The court held that the trial court did not abuse discretion in denying discovery of proposed federal safety‑standard documents, experimental model information, or master crash‑test indices, and therefore did not grant mandamus on those issues. The decision emphasizes the broad scope of discoverable evidence in product‑liability cases. Justice Barrow, dissenting, argued that the majority overstepped appellate authority and unduly interfered with trial‑court discretion.