Business groups see an opportunity with the new, more conservative Republican-led Louisiana Legislature to gain traction on a top goal, to rein in civil lawsuits and damage awards.
GOP lawmakers have made it their top priority for the three-month legislative session starting this morning, filing a long list of bills on the subject.
Challenges to passage involve whittling down the so-called “tort reform” proposals to an achievable, more focused package—and battling the influence of personal injury lawyers and others who oppose the measures.
The biggest unknown involves Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, who could jettison the bills if they reach his desk. The governor has offered only vague statements about being willing to negotiate on the issue with lawmakers.
Significant changes were last made to the civil litigation system more than 20 years ago during Republican former Gov. Mike Foster’s tenure. Business lobbyists have gained a toehold with the ideas this time by tying the changes to a consistent irritant for Louisiana residents: the cost of car insurance.
Louisiana’s automobile insurance rates are second-highest in the nation, averaging around $2,200 per year, according to Bankrate.com and other websites that track the auto insurance industry.
Many Republican lawmakers ran on the idea that Louisiana’s legal climate encourages people in car accidents to sue insurance companies and other businesses, driving up insurance premiums. The lawmakers—and industry—argue that lessening those lawsuits and the payouts awarded through them could lower automobile insurance.
Supporters of the civil litigation system rewrite say if Louisiana makes it harder to win large damage claims in injury lawsuits, that could help draw more insurance companies, creating competition that will force down rates. They say curtailing what they consider an overly litigious environment in Louisiana could attract businesses beyond the insurance industry to the state, creating jobs and boosting economic investments.
“It is our legal environment that hurts that prosperity that we need to have in our state,” said Sen. Barrow Peacock, the Shreveport Republican who chairs the judiciary committee that will hear many of the civil lawsuit-themed bills.
Critics, including plaintiffs’ attorneys, counter there’s no proof legal system changes would lower insurance rates. They say the changes could keep people injured in car accidents from adequate compensation while ignoring other reasons insurance premiums are so high, such as distracted drivers, uninsured drivers and poor road conditions.
An organization calling itself Real Reform Louisiana—run by several Edwards allies—suggests business lobbyists are pushing the civil litigation bills to boost their bottom lines.
If lawmakers pass the bills, it’s unclear what Edwards, who won his re-election bid with significant support from personal injury lawyers, will do with them. Read the full analysis from The Associated Press.
