Gov. Matt Bevin's office was ordered Monday to pay Planned Parenthood for its expenses after the Republican's representatives were a no-show for a deposition in an abortion case.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Dave Whalin told Bevin's office to reimburse Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky for travel and legal expenses incurred for the deposition that had been scheduled Aug. 18.
Planned Parenthood's legal team wanted to question someone from Bevin's office about his administration's denial of a license to the organization to provide abortions in Louisville.
The deposition was rescheduled ahead of a trial held in September in the abortion case. Another federal judge has not yet ruled on the abortion licensing dispute.
In ordering sanctions for the missed deposition, Whalin rejected arguments by the governor's office for why it failed to send any representatives.
"The Governor's Office's unresponsiveness to Planned Parenthood leading up to the scheduled deposition and delayed attempt at preventing the deposition through a protective order weigh in favor of granting Planned Parenthood's request for sanctions," Whalin wrote.
The judge's order didn't say how much Bevin's office must pay to its legal adversary, and he asked Planned Parenthood to submit its expenses by Nov 21.
