Garry Lunsford and Robert Dail, Relators v. Hon. Joseph B. Morris, Judge, 101st District Court, Respondent

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court held that a defendant's net worth is discoverable in cases seeking punitive damages because it is relevant to assessing the appropriate award, and therefore granted a writ of mandamus directing the trial court to permit such discovery. The Court also noted that the longstanding precedent denying such discovery is no longer controlling, while two dissenting justices argued the trial court did not abuse discretion and advocated alternative procedural guidelines.