https://pjmedia.com/tatler/2011/05/08/texas-house-passes-loser-pays-tort-reform/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usThu, 11 Jun 2026 23:47:34 -0400<![CDATA[The past couple of weeks, airwaves around the state capital in Austin have been saturated with TV ads decrying an &#8220;assault&#8221; on liberties. The &#8220;assault&#8221; was actually a strong tort reform bill that discourages frivolous lawsuits by making plaintiffs pay defendant&#8217;s expenses if they lose a lawsuit. The ads were paid for by the Mostyn law firm out of Houston. That name might be familiar to PJM readers and has certainly become familiar to everyone who watches Texas politics. Over the past couple of years, trial lawyer Steve Mostyn has reaped millions from lawsuits in the aftermath of hurricanes (and mold lawsuits prior to that), lawsuits that all but emptied the state&#8217;s windstorm insurance fund. Mostyn has used some of those millions to set himself up as a Texas version of George Soros, funding a &#8220;shadow party&#8221; on behalf of far left Democrats all over the state. His latest ad campaign defended the status quo, in which there is no early opt out for frivolous lawsuits in Texas, and which allows trial lawyers to sue on contingency knowing that the worst that can happen to them is they won&#8217;t collect; meanwhile, those they sue will be out expenses for defending themselves. That environment encourages frivolous lawsuits, and has made lawyers like Mostyn and fellow Democrat Jim Dunnam very wealthy men. And, it has made insurance more and more expensive for everyday Texans.]]>Sun, 08 May 2011 10:26:14 -0400<![CDATA[Bryan Preston]]>https://pjmedia.com/bryan-preston-1/2011/05/08/texas-house-passes-loser-pays-tort-reform-n147074