Discovery Requests for Defendants' Workers' Comp Files Deemed Overly Broad

BEAUMONT, Texas - A Texas appeals court has conditionally granted mandamus relief to two defendants in a take-home asbestos exposure case after determining that discovery requests seeking workers' comp records for the defendants' employees are overly broad. In Re Sears, Roebuck and Company and In Re Ford Motor Company, Nos. 09-04-337, 09-04-338 (Texas Ct. App., 9th Dist.).

In a decision issued Sept. 23, the 9th District Texas Court of Appeals ruled that while information contained in the records may be relevant to the underlying claim, they nonetheless have not been narrowly tailored by plaintiffs to avoid being classified as unburdensome.