In Re Attorney General of Texas

OPINION

The Office of the Attorney General seeks mandamus relief from a trial court order reinstating a paternity action. Because the trial court abused its discretion, we conditionally grant the petition for writ of mandamus.

Background

In November 2002, the attorney general filed a petition to establish a parent-child relationship. The purported father, Thomas Gasaway, the real party in interest here, did not file an answer. In December 2002, the trial court signed an order for parentage testing, which also set a trial date for March 20, 2003. The parentage test showed Gasaway could not be…