Texas Lawmaker Asks Court to Disclose Legal Fees, Settlements in Hurricane Ike Suits
A Texas lawmaker who chairs the House’s Republican Caucus is seeking information on Hurricane Ike settlements and legal fees paid to a Houston plaintiffs lawyer with a history of supporting Democrats.
State Rep. Larry Taylor filed suit in Travis County Court in an effort to enforce an opinion by the state attorney general that said the settlement records should be released under the state’s public records law, the Austin American-Statesman reports. Houston plaintiffs lawyer Steve Mostyn was lead lawyer in the settlement negotiations and is one of the state’s biggest Democratic donors, the story says. He argues the information is protected by attorney-client privilege.
In a hearing on Tuesday, a lawyer for Mostyn argued the case should be decided by a Galveston judge who issued an injunction halting release of the information before the attorney general released the legal opinion favoring Taylor.
