Homeowners’ insurance premiums and deductibles will increase statewide 
(Houston, TX)  Texans for Lawsuit Reform reminded Texans today that virtually all the opposition behind the hailstorm lawsuit reform bill (SB 1628 by Senator Larry Taylor and Representative John Smithee) is being orchestrated by Steve Mostyn, a storm-chasing trial lawyer who will continue to make millions of dollars in fees if he can defeat the bill. 

“Steve Mostyn has filed more hail lawsuits than any other attorney in Texas. He models hailstorm lawsuits after the lawsuits he brought against TWIA that reaped him an estimated half-billion dollars in attorney fees while wrecking TWIA’s financial position.  Mostyn has turned his mass-tort model to hail claims, causing an explosion in weather-related lawsuits across the state – over 20,000 lawsuits in 81 Texas counties – a figure that is increasing daily.  As a result, property owners are seeing higher insurance deductibles, higher premiums, and reduced coverage. Over 10,000 people in the Rio Grande Valley have already lost their homeowners’ insurance coverage,” said TLR spokesperson Sherry Sylvester.

Mostyn has invested millions to try to impact the political process in Texas, backing candidates who will support his agenda to protect lawsuit loopholes in Texas statutes and expand opportunities to sue.  According to the Texas Ethics Commission, Mostyn has spent over $23 million against Republican candidates, including the $4 million he spent last year against Governor Greg Abbott, a long-time champion of tort reform. According to the Austin American-Statesman, Mostyn keeps his 10th and  Congress Avenue office “to watch over” Democrats he has bankrolled.

Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the state’s largest civil justice reform organization, is a bipartisan, volunteer-led coalition with more than 18,000 supporters residing in more than 869 Texas communities and representing 1,253 different businesses, professions and trades. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @lawsuitreform.