Steve Mostyn, Houston attorney and major Dem donor, dies

Houston lawyer Steve Mostyn has been installed as president of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association for 2011. Houston lawyer Steve Mostyn has been installed as president of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association for 2011. less Houston lawyer Steve Mostyn has been installed as president of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association for 2011. Houston lawyer Steve Mostyn has been installed as president of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association ... more Photo: Scott Kohn, Photographer Photo: Scott Kohn, Photographer Image 1 of / 152 Caption Close Steve Mostyn, Houston attorney and major Dem donor, dies 1 / 152 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN -- Steve Mostyn, a prominent Houston trial attorney and a top Democratic Party donor, has died. He was 46.

In a statement, his family confirmed Thursday his death on Wednesday "after a sudden onset and battle with a mental health issue."

"Steve was a beloved husband and devoted father who adored his children and never missed any of their sporting events," the statement reads. "He was a true friend, and a faithful fighter for those who did not have a voice."

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"Steve touched countless lives. Many friends and colleagues in Texas and throughout the country have reached out during this painful time. Our family is requesting privacy . . . The details of a celebration of Steve's life will be announced at a later date."

"In honor of Steve's life and legacy, please consider supporting the important work of the Mostyn Moreno Foundation or the Special Olympics of Texas. If you or a loved one are thinking about suicide, or experiencing a health crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline right now."

Born John Steven Mostyn in Whitehouse, a small town in East Texas, just southeast of Tyler, Mostyn graduated from the South Texas College of Law in 1996 and joined a Houston firm. Soon, he went on his own to create what he called "a uniquely different Texas law firm" -- Mostyn Law -- that focused on corporate negligence and wrongdoing.

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Hailstorm and storm lawsuits against insurance companies became a specialty of his firm, attracting the ire of insurers and the Republican officials they supported politically. Lawsuits filed by his firm took up the cause of homeowners who thought they had been underpaid for damages, in what became a litigation model for subsequent storms.

In several legislative sessions since Hurricane Ike struck the Texas Coast in 2008, lawmakers pushed for reforms to limit lawsuits over storm and hailstorm damages -- invoking Mostyn's name and citing the 1,200 suits his firm filed after Rita and another flurry of cases he filed in 2012 over a hailstorm in Hidalgo County.

The latest bill designed to end "weather-related lawsuit abuse" was signed into law earlier this year and took effect in September.

Facing the legislative pushback Mostyn became politically active, contributing to candidates and political action committees that opposed lawsuit reform -- with millions going to Democrats.

He also became a frequent target of Republican attacks for his activism -- at the courthouse and against them in politics. At times, he almost seemed to relish the fight -- such as in 2010, when he paid for full-page ads in Texas newspapers calling Gov. Rick Perry a "coward" for refusing to debate his Democratic rival, former Houston Mayor Bill White.

Since 2000, Mostyn had donated more than $24 million to political causes in his name and in his law firm's name, according to campaign finance records.

In 2012 alone, Mostyn donated $5.2 million to various pro-Democratic Super PACs ranging from Planned Parenthood to Texans for America's Future to Priorities USA Action, a pro-Barack Obama PAC, according to the Center for Public Integrity.

In 2014, he and his wife donated approximately $3 million to Democratic candidates, including state Sen. Wendy Davis, who we running against Republican Greg Abbott. Davis lost.

"I am heartbroken," Davis tweeted Thursday. "Texas has lost an extraordinary person. Steve was a committed and effective fighter for justice, a wonderful husband, father and friend. He leaves behind a lasting impact on everyone who's life he touched."

Mostyn and his wife, Amber, were co-founders of the Ready for Hillary PAC, a political action committee supporting Clinton's unsuccessful campaign for president. At the same time, state campaign finance records show he also contributed to a police-affiliated PAC that supported Republican primary candidates.

Mostyn also help fund the Texas Organizing Project and Battleground Texas, two Democratic comeback strategies for the party that has not won a statewide election in two decades.

"It's hard to really quantify the hole it leaves for progressives. He's probably the first true financial benefactor for progressives in Houston, and I say that because it's really different than supporting individual candidates the way trial lawyers have collectively in the past. He really supported the underlying causes, which is a different kind of take, and I'm not sure that gets filled, certainly not immediately."Despite the Mostyns and the law firm's high-profile political activism -- they contributed more than $1.8 million to Texas politicians in 2016 -- Mostyn told the Texas Tribune in a September interview that he was growing tired of almost single-handedly funding Democratic candidates in a state that was solidly Republican.

He said he intended to downscale his political giving to Democrats in Texas elections to encourage others to step forward. "We've asked other people to do it and they want to do it and I want other people to get credit for doing it," the Tribune quoted him as saying. "I mean this is a giant, giant state, if we were trying to flip Vermont we'd be done."

Political consultants and Democratic officeholders said Thursday that his comments -- and, now, his death -- will mean that Democrats will have to ramp up new donors.

"It's hard to really quantify the hole it leaves for progressives," said Jay Aiyer, a political science professor at Texas Southern University.

"He's probably the first true financial benefactor for progressives in Houston, and I say that because it's really different than supporting individual candidates the way trial lawyers have collectively in the past. He really supported the underlying causes, which is a different kind of take, and I'm not sure that gets filled, certainly not immediately."

Among other honors and awards, Mostyn had served as the youngest president of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association -- at age 41.

As word of Mostyn's death spread in in Austin on Thursday, political activists and Democrats reacted with surprise and sympathy.

"Steve was a giant. He was the epitome of a Texas Democrat -- big, bold, fearless, and caring. He dedicated his professional and personal life to fighting for the little guy," said Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said.

"Millions of Texans live better lives because of the advocacy, philanthropy, and sheer willpower of Steve Mostyn. Our state and our world are better because he fought so hard for us all."

State Sen. Sylvia Garcia, a Houston Democrat and longtime Mostyn friend who is running for Congress, called Mostyn's death "heartbreaking."

"He was a friend and supporter, but, in many ways, I consider the Mostyns family," she said in a statement. "Many people's lives were touched by Steve's spirit and generosity. I'm just thankful to have known him and had the chance to fight the good fight with him."

Harris County Pct. 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, a former state senator and longtime friend, said "Texas has lost a great man and I have lost a treasured friend. "He was dedicated to the ideals of equal rights for all people, particularly our most vulnerable residents," Ellis said.

To many friends and political allies who remembered him on Thursday, Mostyn's credo in life was summed up by a painting in the lobby of his law firm's Austin office that quotes legendary Texas hero Sam Houston.

"Do right and risk the consequences," reads the saying.