[StBernard] Louisiana tort reform bill voted down by House

[Westley Annis]

Louisiana tort reform bill voted down by House
Print Julia O'Donoghue, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Julia O'Donoghue,
NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
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on April 15, 2014 at 9:55 PM, updated April 16, 2014 at 12:22 PM

The Louisiana House of Representatives narrowly voted down a bill considered
key to the so-called "tort reform" package pushed by the state's business
lobby on Tuesday evening. The vote was 51-49, with five members not voting.

The legislation would have significantly lowered the amount of money
residents who file tort cases, like personal injury lawsuits, would have
needed to seek a jury trial in civil court. Plaintiffs who want a jury trial
are required to file suit for at least $50,000 in damages, under the state
current law.

Some members of the business community blame Louisiana's costly insurance
rates on its high threshold for a jury trial. If companies weren't forced to
fork over at least $50,000 every time they lost a lawsuit, then insurance
might not be so expensive in the state, they have said. The high threshold
for damages also scares away business, according to the Louisiana
Association for Business and Industry, a lobby group that holds significant
sway over the Legislature.

"This is the biggest piece of the puzzle, and we have to address this first
before we can have any reduction in insurance rates," said Rep. Ray
Garofalo, R-Chalmette, who sponsored the legislation.

Opponents of the bill, lead by Rep. John Bel Edwards, D-Amite, challenged
that assertion, saying there was no concrete evidence that lowering the jury
trial threshold would lead to cheaper insurance rates for Louisiana
residents. 

"No one testified in committee that this bill would bring down insurance
rates," said Edwards, of testimony on the bill heard earlier this month.

There was some debate over whether lower the jury threshold beneath $50,000
would result in more jury trials and create more work for the court systems
in the state. Several opponents over the bill said such legislation would
overwhelm Louisiana's legal system. Garofalo said similar laws in other
states have not lead to a surge in jury trials.

Immediately after Garofalo's bill failed, the House heard another bill
related to jury trial thresholds in Louisiana. The second piece of
legislation would allow a group of people to file a suit jointly if their
total damages exceeded $100,000. But no one person in the group of
plaintiffs would be required to have damages exceeding $50,000.   

Some House members would only support the second bill after its sponsor,
Rep. Neil Abramson, D-New Orleans, agreed not to let the proposal be amended
to imitate Garofalo's bill at a later stage in the legislative process.

"I will not allow this bill to be converted into an instrument that would
lower the jury trial threshold," said Abramson on the floor.

. . . . . .

Julia O'Donoghue is a state politics reporter based in Baton Rouge. She can
be reached at jodonoghue at nola.com or on Twitter at @jsodonoghue. Please
consider following us on Facebook at NOLA.com and NOLA.com-Baton Rouge.