A state district judge in Bexar County today ordered Murphy Turner & Associates to pay $41,000 in discovery costs in a trademark infringement case. The lawsuit results from alleged infringement on the Empower Texans name “Texans for Fiscal Responsibility.”
The suit stems from a faux-grassroots group established by a family member of an MTA partner styled as “Texans for Fiscal Accountability” that sent mail into the districts of their clients who had not been endorsed by TFR.
After an agreed order, entered in February of this year, for computer forensic imaging resulted in the discovery of approximately 6,000 pages of unproduced documents, the court today ordered MTA to pay the cost of the forensics experts.
“Until the court-order for forensic computer imaging, Murphy Turner & Associates only produced roughly 50 pages of documents,” said Joe Nixon, who represents Empower Texans and Texans for Fiscal Responsibility. “Given the amount of money these consultants charge, and their involvement in these races, we knew these additional documents had to exist.”
According to news reports, MTA partners and staff have been found to engage in similar activities in Galveston County and elsewhere.
A copy of Judge Larry Noll’s order (.pdf format) can be found here.
