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.

(Houston, TX) Texans for Lawsuit Reform President Richard J. Trabulsi, Jr., issued the following statement today following the passage of HB 1492 in the Texas House:

“We congratulate Chairman Doug Miller, R-New Braunfels, on the passage of HB 1492. Texas has been a leader in fighting asbestos lawsuit abuse since 2005 when the Legislature reined in outrageous asbestos lawsuit scams that were ravaging the state. Chairman Miller’s bill will eliminate the latest asbestos lawsuit abuse while assuring that people suffering from asbestos diseases have speedy access to Texas’ courts. HB 1492 encourages honesty, transparency and fairness in asbestos litigation. 

“Eighty members of the Texas House co-sponsored this bill – a clear demonstration that Texans continue to support fair and common-sense reform measures.” 

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. For more information, visit www.tortreform.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @lawsuitreform.

(Houston, TX)  Texans for Lawsuit Reform today applauded Governor Greg Abbott’s appointment of Judge Debra Ibarra Mayfield to the 165th District Court in Harris County.  TLR General Counsel Hugh Rice Kelly said:

“As a former District Judge himself, as well as a member of the Texas Supreme Court, Governor Abbott knows first-hand the kind of legal experience, expertise and temperament that are essential for a good district court judge.  Judge Mayfield has demonstrated that she meets all those requirements and more.  Prior to her appointment to the County Court at Law, Judge Mayfield practiced trial and appellate law for ten years.  On the bench, she has served with distinction, as reflected by her recent selection by her peers to serve as the Administrative Judge of the County Civil Courts.  We are confident Judge Mayfield will serve admirably on the bench.”

In addition to serving as the Administrative Judge of the County Civil Courts, Judge Mayfield currently serves as judge of Harris County Civil Court at Law Number One, where she has held office since 2011.  She is a past president of the Mexican American Bar Association of Houston and received the 2014 “Public Service Award” from the South Texas College School of Law.  Judge Mayfield received her bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M and her law degree from South Texas College of Law.

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. For more information, visit www.tortreform.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @lawsuitreform.

(Houston, TX)  Texans for Lawsuit Reform issued the following statement today regarding CSSB 1628 by Senator Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, which is critical to stopping the lawsuit abuse being perpetrated by storm-chasing trial lawyers. 

“Sen. Larry Taylor’s hailstorm lawsuit bill will stop the latest wave of lawsuit abuse in Texas – storm-chasing trial lawyers who go from hailstorm to hailstorm manufacturing lawsuits for attorney fees.  Though complaints to Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) are at an all time low, an explosion of lawsuits across Texas – 300 lawsuits were filed in 25 Texas counties last week alone – have resulted in demands of ten to twenty times as much as the original homeowner’s claim.  This lawsuit explosion will produce higher deductibles and higher premiums for Texas homeowners. In some areas of Texas and for some types of properties, coverage for homeowners has already been severely reduced and even eliminated,” said TLR spokesperson Sherry Sylvester.

CSSB 1628 maintains vital safeguards for policyholders to receive fair and timely claims payments from insurers, including collecting damages plus 18% penalty interest plus pre-judgment interest plus attorney fees when an insurer has acted wrongly in dealings with policyholders.  The bill will require a claimant who wants to sue to file a lawsuit within two years of the storm when the damage occurred and to notify the insurance company regarding any perceived problems with the claim before filing suit.   

TLR has championed the passage of major tort reforms in Texas since 1995, making the Lone Star State the lawsuit reform model for the nation and a leader in job creation and economic expansion. Lawsuit reform has stood the test of time in Texas.  Not one of the tort reforms backed by TLR has been diminished or reversed by the courts or by later legislative action.

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. For more information, visit www.tortreform.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @lawsuitreform.

(Houston, TX) Texans for Lawsuit Reform issued the following statement today following the release of the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) annual “Judicial Hellholes” report. The report monitors the state of civil litigation around the country.

“We are not surprised that Hidalgo County is included on ATRA’s “Judicial Hellholes” list. Hailstorm lawsuit abuse has become a critical problem for homeowners throughout Texas, but it began in Hidalgo County and homeowners there have been hit particularly hard,” said TLR spokesperson Sherry Sylvester. “Storm chasing trial lawyers are making millions in attorney fees on dubious hailstorm property claims while homeowners are losing access to homeowners insurance or seeing their premiums and deductibles skyrocket. This is the most flagrant lawsuit abuse problem we are seeing in Texas today.”

TLR is the state’s largest civil justice reform organization. TLR is a bipartisan, volunteer-led coalition with more than 17,000 supporters residing in 818 Texas communities and representing 1,266 different businesses, professions and trades. Follow us on Facebook and twitter @lawsuitreform.

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“Never stir up litigation. A worse man can scarcely be found than one who does this.”

(Houston, TX) Texans for Lawsuit Reform again honors the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, for his strong stand against lawsuit abuse. Lincoln’s admonition to “never stir up litigation…” continues to resonate today as we review recent reports that personal injury trial lawyers spent $892 million last year on advertising, most of which is, in fact, designed to “stir up litigation.”

Always counted among our greatest and most visionary presidents, Lincoln saw more than a hundred-fifty years ago that lawsuit abuse was detrimental, not only to the legal profession, but to America as a whole.

In his “Notes on a Law Lecture,” written on July 1, 1850, Lincoln said:

Never stir up litigation. A worse man can scarcely be found than one who does this. Who can be more nearly a fiend than he who habitually overhauls the register of deeds in search of defects in titles, whereon to stir up strife, and put money in his pocket? A moral tone ought to be infused into the profession which should drive such men out of it.

Lincoln’s complete “Notes on a Law Lecture” can be found at: http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/lawlect.htm

Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the state’s largest civil justice reform organization, is a bipartisan, volunteer-led coalition with more than 17,000 supporters residing in more than 869 Texas communities and representing 1,253 different businesses, professions and trades. For more information, visit www.tortreform.com.