AUSTIN — A group of whistleblowers who sued Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office are calling off a settlement they reached after the state agency refused to agree to the terms, lawyers said Wednesday.
The $3.3 million settlement agreement, reached last month, was contingent on funding approval from state lawmakers. But attorneys for the four whistleblowers said they are pulling back after the agency would not agree to a deadline to secure the money in the current legislative session, which runs through May.
“We would still settle the case if the legislature approved the payment this session, but we cannot and did not agree to give [Office of the Attorney General] the benefit of a settlement while the whistleblowers wait in perpetuity for legislative approval,” the lawyers wrote in a joint statement.
They said they’ll go back to court, “where the taxpayers will end up paying more to defend OAG than they would to settle this case.” The case is pending before the Texas Supreme Court.
Related:Who will pay $3.3M settlement in whistleblower suit against Texas AG Ken Paxton’s office?
The tentative settlement agreement was met with backlash at the Texas Legislature, as lawmakers balked at having to pay the bill. House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, said he thought it was not a proper use of taxpayer money.
Paxton’s office, meanwhile, pitched the settlement as a way to avoid expensive litigation costs should the case play out.
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