Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: individual right to disengage from deposition hearing

[While your question says you are in Texas it also says California law applies, so I will presume that this is a California case.]

You may not choose to disregard a properly-issued subpoena. Your own views of the case, the parties or the importance of your testimony are beside the point.

There are things that can be done to fight such a subpoena, but only under limited circumstances. If the party who subpoenaed you intends to ask for information of a very private nature or seeks to learn confidential business information, you may be able to at least limit the scope of the deposition. If the deposition seems designed only to harass you you may be able to get the subpoena quashed in its entirety.

Also, it may be that the subpoena is defective. This happens relatively often in connection with out-of-state depositions, so you might want to have a California lawyer look at it for you.

However, if you have relevant (and not intensely private) information to provide and have been subpoenaed properly, you will have to put up with the deposition.

If it's any consolation, some time in the future you might need to depose a reluctant witness in a case of your own, and the same system which now forces you to submit will be available then to protect your interests.