Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies tied to Tylenol in Panola County, a rural community of 23,000 residents on the Louisiana border that former President Donald Trump carried by 67 points in 2024. The October suit repeated claims made by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. linking the pain relief drug to autism and ADHD in children.
Paxton hired the Chicago law firm Keller Postman to argue the case in state court, despite a similar lawsuit being dismissed a year earlier by a New York federal judge who found plaintiffs' expert witnesses unreliable. At a hearing that month, defense attorney Kim Bueno accused Paxton's office of pushing a baseless lawsuit through forum shopping—seeking out judges and juries most favorable to their position.
ProPublica and The Texas Tribune identified at least 30 cases filed by the attorney general over nine years that have a tenuous connection to the counties in which they were filed. Legal experts say the approach marks a departure from Paxton's own previous opposition to forum shopping.
What the Right Is Saying
Paxton has not spoken publicly about his office's litigation strategy and did not respond to requests for comment or written questions from ProPublica. Supporters note that Texas' consumer protection law gives the attorney general some flexibility in where cases are filed, allowing suits in counties where defendants have done business rather than requiring proof that a substantial part of events occurred there.
Trump endorsed Paxton in his bid for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican John Cornyn. The former president's backing came as Paxton announced his candidacy following years of legal troubles, including an impeachment that ended without conviction in 2023.
Neither Abbott nor Cornyn—Paxton's predecessor and current political rival—responded to requests for comment about their own litigation venue practices. ProPublica and the Tribune reviewed hundreds of cases filed outside of the state's five large urban counties during their tenures and found each had a clear connection to the chosen venue.
At the Panola County hearing, defense attorney Bueno argued that claims against Tylenol have been 'rejected over and over and over again in courts of law by the same plaintiff's counsel.' "And now they're trying, once again, to suggest that Tylenol is harmful for women when pregnant," she said. "And it's been soundly rejected."
What the Left Is Saying
Legal scholars critical of Paxton's approach argue his office is engaging in precisely the practice he once condemned. In 2017, Paxton co-authored a legal brief on behalf of 17 states urging the U.S. Supreme Court to crack down on forum shopping, writing that it 'has the pernicious effect of reducing confidence in the fairness and neutrality of our Nation's justice system.'
"It looks like the attorney general's office is interested in engaging in litigation games that it would otherwise decry if the shoe were on the other foot," said Michael Ariens, a professor at St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio who has studied laws regulating where lawsuits can be filed.
Three legal experts told ProPublica and the Tribune that Paxton's approach subverts what the Texas Legislature intended when it passed a law in the 1990s requiring plaintiffs to file lawsuits in counties where a 'substantial' part of alleged violations took place. That legislation was originally championed by conservatives who felt trial lawyers were flocking to favorable venues against businesses.
Former staffers of the attorney general's office who argued against Paxton's cases in court told the outlets that he has stretched the boundaries of consumer protection law beyond its intended scope. Last year, for example, the AG filed a lawsuit against gaming platform Roblox in King County—a ranching community of about 200 people east of Lubbock—citing only that residents there had internet access as justification.
What the Numbers Show
Panola County: Population 23,000 residents on Texas-Louisiana border; Trump won with 67-point margin in 2024.
The sole state district court judge in Panola County is a Republican.
At least 30 cases filed by Paxton's office over nine years identified as having tenuous connection to venue.
Similar Tylenol lawsuit dismissed by New York federal judge in 2023 for unreliable expert witnesses before Paxton refiled in Texas state court.
King County, where Roblox suit was filed: approximately 200 residents; rural ranching community east of Lubbock.
The Bottom Line
The ProPublica and Tribune investigation raises questions about consistency between Paxton's stated principles on forum shopping and his office's actual litigation practices. Legal experts say the cases stretch both Texas' venue statutes and the attorney general's consumer protection authorities beyond their intended boundaries.
Paxton faces a primary challenge to Cornyn for the U.S. Senate seat, with Trump's endorsement providing significant political backing. The forum shopping criticism comes as Paxton's legal troubles—including an impeachment that ended without conviction in 2023—have drawn renewed attention ahead of the 2026 election cycle.
The Tylenol lawsuit remains pending, and courts have not ruled on whether Panola County is an appropriate venue for the case.