RM Elon Musk’s Space City Takes Legal Action Against Texas AG Over Public Records Requests Again
Since its incorporation, Starbase, the space city linked to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has found itself in repeated legal disputes with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton concerning the release of public records. The city has filed at least four lawsuits in response to rulings from Paxton’s office regarding media requests for public information.
The latest legal action took place last week when Starbase’s legal team filed a lawsuit against Paxton in the state District Court of Travis County. The case centers on a ruling by the Attorney General’s office, which determined that certain information, that Starbase wanted to keep confidential, must be disclosed to the public.
These lawsuits highlight the challenges Starbase faces as it navigates its role as a public entity, while being overshadowed by the private space company, which has an estimated worth of up to $800 billion.
Three of the lawsuits, all filed in Travis County, stem from public information requests made by Dave Hendricks, a reporter from KVEO-TV in Brownsville. Two of these cases, including the most recent one filed in October, involve requests for invoices from Starbase’s law firm, Messer Fort, spanning various periods since the city’s establishment in May.
In these cases, Starbase argued that the invoices were protected under legal exceptions or attorney-client privilege and appealed to Paxton’s office to prevent their release. While Paxton’s office ruled that some information could be withheld, it also decided that the remaining details must be made public.
The third case concerns a request by Hendricks for emails between Starbase officials and Richard Cardile, SpaceX’s senior manager of spaceport operations at Starbase. In this instance, Paxton’s office determined that some portions of the emails could be withheld, but others must be disclosed.
Starbase is seeking to have Paxton’s rulings overturned in all three of these cases.
A fourth lawsuit, filed last month in Travis County, involves a public information request submitted by Lauren McGaughy, a reporter for KUT, Austin’s National Public Radio station. McGaughy requested emails from Starbase officials, including City Administrator Kent Myers, Mayor Bobby Peden, and Commissioners Jordan Buss and Jenna Petrzelka, covering the period since May. Notably, both Peden and Buss hold positions at SpaceX, with Peden serving as Vice President of Texas Test and Launch, and Buss as Senior Director of Environmental, Health, and Safety.
As is common in such cases, Starbase included SpaceX as a third party in the request. Paxton’s office ruled that some of the information Starbase and SpaceX wished to keep confidential should be released to the public. In response, the city filed a lawsuit to overturn the decision but later filed a notice indicating its intention to drop the suit.
Although SpaceX is a private company and not directly subject to state open records laws, Starbase, as a city entity, is required to comply with public records requests related to its communications with the private company, with certain exceptions, such as the protection of trade secrets.
SpaceX often seeks to block the release of public records related to its operations by pushing for the withholding of certain documents. While the company has succeeded in some instances, its efforts have not always been successful.
In a recent high-profile case, following months of litigation, the state released 1,400 pages of heavily redacted emails between Musk and Texas Governor Greg Abbott. SpaceX had argued that the emails contained proprietary business information, while Abbott’s office fought the release, citing concerns over “intimate and embarrassing” content.
Despite these challenges, the Texas Attorney General’s office has ruled in favor of media organizations, including the San Antonio Express-News, in public records requests regarding Starbase, such as those related to testing explosions and water delivery records.
