“Appellate courts must intervene to prevent trial courts from forcing apex executives to sit for depositions when they lack unique knowledge about relevant facts.”
—John Masslon, WLF Senior Litigation Counsel

WASHINGTON, DC—In a victory for Washington Legal Foundation (WLF), yesterday the Supreme Court of Texas stayed a trial court order requiring Meta’s Chief Executive Officer, Mark Zuckerberg, to sit for a deposition.

The case arises from Texas’s lawsuit against Meta accusing it of privacy violations. During discovery, Texas sought to depose Zuckerberg about issues on which he had no unique knowledge. The trial court denied Meta’s request for a protective order and the intermediate appellate court declined to intervene. Meta then sought relief from the Supreme Court of Texas, which stayed the order pending disposition of Meta’s mandamus petition.

As WLF’s brief showed, allowing Texas to depose Zuckerberg would violate the apex doctrine because he lacks any unique knowledge relevant to Texas’s claims. The brief also described how the apex doctrine is key to promoting a pro-business environment. The brief was filed with the pro bono assistance of Randall W. Miller of Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C.