In Re Heather J. Taylor and Mad Hat Maven, LLC v. the State of Texas

• Court: Texas Court of Appeals, 1st District (Houston)
• Decided: April 9, 2026
• Docket: 01-26-00338-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

Opinion issued April 9, 2026

In The

Court of Appeals For The

First District of Texas ———————————— NO. 01-26-00338-CV ——————————— IN RE HEATHER J. TAYLOR AND MAD HAT MAVEN, LLC, Relators

Original Proceeding on Petition for Writ of Mandamus

MEMORANDUM OPINION

At 10:33pm on April 8, 2026, Relators Hether J. Taylor and Mad Hat Maven,

LLC—non-parties in the underlying defamation action—filed a petition for writ of

mandamus challenging (1) the March 3, 2026 Order Granting Substituted Service

signed by the Honorable Rabeea Sultan Collier, Presiding Judge of the 113th Judicial

District Court of Harris County, authorizing substituted service of subpoenas on

Relators, and (2) the March 31, 2026 Enforcement Order signed by the Honorable

Fredericka Phillips, Visting Judge of the 113th Judicial District Court of Harris County, compelling Relators to appear for depositions within ten days (i.e., by April

9, 2026) and produce all documents responsive to the document request at least three

days prior to the deposition. 1 In conjunction with the petition, Relators filed a motion

requesting an emergency stay of (1) the Enforcement Order, (2) the deposition of

Taylor scheduled for April 9, 2026 at 9:00am, and (3) the deposition of Mad Hat

Mave’s corporate representative scheduled for April 9, 2026 at 1:30pm. We deny

the mandamus petition and the related stay motion.

PER CURIAM Panel consists of Justices Gunn, Caughey, and Morgan.

1 The underlying case is Jay K. Sears v. Women’s Justice Network, USA and J. Doe, cause number 2025-78000, pending in the 113th District Court of Harris County, Texas, the Honorable Rabeea Sultan Collier presiding. The Honorable Fredericka Phillips sitting as visiting judge. 2