TribBlog: Taylor vs. Mostyn, Part Two

He may still be recovering after a near-fatal four-wheeler accident this summer, but Steve Mostyn's in a fightin' mood. The attorney has responded to state Rep. Larry Taylor's request for details about his firm's profits after a settlement with the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association by sending the association's general manager Jim Oliver a warning: Release that information to Taylor, and you could be breaking the law.

"Mr. Taylor has no authority to issue a 'legislative investigative request' or any other document under color of law that would compel the production of documents," Mostyn writes. "Further, a request of assistance or information may only be requested of a state agency, which the Association is not." (TWIA, as it's known, is a quasi-public agency.)

We're still waiting to hear back from Taylor, but Mostyn is also questioning the timing and motivations behind Taylor's request. He writes that it comes just after Mike Hull of Texans for Lawsuit Reform — the trial lawyers' rival group — contacted TWIA counsel for the same specific information. "The timing ... strongly suggests that he is using his position on the legislative oversight committee for non-legislative purposes, namely political and partisan purposes. This suggestion is also backed by the fact that there has been no committee meeting previously on this matter."

Larry Taylor, please call me back...