Steve Mostyn is a Houston lawyer specializing in consumer law. As founder of the firm Mostyn Law, he has made a name for himself by protecting those who have lost everything in natural disasters, like Hurricane Ike. In the past decade, Steven and his wife Amber have represented storm victims against insurers in numerous important cases in Texas and across our nation.
In February 2016, the Thirteenth Court of Appeals backed Mostyn Law after National Lloyds Insurance Company attempted to disqualify the firm from pursuing hundreds of damage suits against the insurer related to 2013 hailstorms in Hidalgo County, Texas.
Specifically, during the spring of 2012, two shattering hailstorms hit Hidalgo County, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in destruction and damages to homes and properties. Unfortunately, insurance companies refused pay their customers what was needed to rebuild. Due to this issue, 6,700 hailstorm lawsuits were filed, and with Amber Mostyn at the helm, Mostyn Law filed lawsuits on behalf of hundreds of homeowners who were facing unfair settlement practices from National Lloyds.
Rather than filing frivolous lawsuits in Hidalgo County, Steve and Amber Mostyn are standing up for everyday Texans who have paid their insurance premiums for years, but have been swindled out of money rightfully owed to them by their insurance company.
One Mostyn Law attorney, Lauren Chapman, previously worked at Andrews Kurth, a Houston firm that did appeals work for National Lloyds. Following this realization, the insurance company filed a motion to disrupt the hailstorm legal efforts by going after Chapman—even though National Lloyds acknowledged she was never involved in civil cases at Andrew Kurth. A ruling in National Lloyds’ favor had the potential to affect 400 cases.
Mostyn Law won the appeal against the insurer when the court rejected National Lloyds’ contention that Chapman had a conflict of interest, simply because she previously worked for a law firm that had represented the insurer. “This ruling protects a person’s right to choose the lawyer they want,” said Amber Mostyn.
The ruling is important because it is the first state case to make clear that, except in only a few instances, clients have the right to choose the attorney they want to represent them, regardless of prior affiliation.
In addition to upholding the appeal, the court also reprimanded National Lloyds for how it handled its filings. The court noted that after the insurer learned that Chapman was working at Mostyn Law, National Lloyds waited months before asking the trial court judge to rule on possible conflicts. After the trial judge ruled against National Lloyds, the insurer again waited months before appealing the decision to the higher court.
“National Lloyds used flawed legal arguments to attack a lawyer representing Texans. National Lloyds wants Mostyn Law out of these cases. If our clients want us, we’re not going anywhere,” stated Amber Mostyn.
No matter the natural disaster, from hurricanes to hailstorms, Mostyn is making sure that those affected by major storms are being treated fairly. Even up north, Mostyn is helping more than 1,500 residents in New York and New Jersey, by leading 160 Hurricane Sandy claims against FEMA.
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