The Amarillo Court of Appeals recently held that a party may be ordered to sign a medical records authorization in response to a request for disclosure pursuant to TRCP 194.2. The defendant served a request for disclosures including a request for execution of an authorization to release medical records under Rule 194.2(j). The plaintiffs argued they could respond by either producing the medical records or executing an authorization permitting the release of medical records. The trial court disagreed and ordered the plaintiffs to execute the authorizations. Plaintiffs sought mandamus relief from the court of appeals. In denying the plaintiffs’ petition, the court of appeals stated that "the option belongs to the party requesting disclosure, not the one responding to it. If a legitimate request is sought, then the respondent cannot unilaterally comply with the request by simply delivering selected medical records." The court’s opinion in In Re Soto can be found at this link.