Michael Carroll News
New Louisiana law bars employer NDAs used to keep workplace abuses hidden
Louisiana has joined several other states, including California and New York, to prohibit the enforcement on nondisclosure agreements by employers when they serve to conceal hostile work environments or sexual harassment.
Energy industry backers welcome judge's rejection of LNG export pause
A Louisiana judge’s decision to overturn a ban on new liquefied natural gas export agreements will benefit the state’s energy economy, support oil industry jobs and ensure that U.S. allies have a secure, clean energy source, opponents of the ban say.
Landry vetoes bill that sought to make 'deepfake' depictions of political candidates illegal
Gov. Jeff Landry has vetoed a measure aimed to prohibit intentionally manipulated images, audio or videos known as “deepfakes” that are designed to deceive voters or harm the reputation of political candidates during election campaigns.
Pelican Institute lawsuit backing independent contractor classification gets national support
Free-enterprise think tanks are siding with the New Orleans-based Pelican Institute’s litigation challenging the U.S. Department of Labor’s recently published rule making it more difficult to classify workers as independent contractors.
Louisiana governor signs compromise tort-reform bill to regulate litigation financing
Gov. Jeff Landry has signed a measure into law that will bring a degree of transparency about the involvement of third-party litigation funders in subsidizing civil litigation in Louisiana.
Federal lawsuit challenges Louisiana's new law mandating Ten Commandments displays in classrooms
The ACLU of Louisiana and other groups supporting the separation of church and state filed a federal lawsuit this week challenging a just-signed state law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in all public-school classrooms.
Louisiana governor vetoes bill aimed at moderating medical damages calculations in civil suits
Louisiana’s insurance commissioner is calling for a special legislative session on legal reforms in the wake of Gov. Jeff Landry vetoing a bill favored by business groups that would have clarified medical payment amounts used to determine civil damages awards.
Louisiana federal courts outpace the nation in litigated insurance claims, new report says
Federal court districts in Louisiana have led the nation in processing litigated property insurance claims in recent years, with about one-third of such claims being filed in the Western District and Eastern District of Louisiana, a new study found.
Attorneys question Louisiana federal judge's conduct after recusal in port contractor's lawsuit
Attorneys representing a commercial tenant at the Port of Lake Charles have accused two federal judges of engaging in communications that cast doubt on the impartiality of an ongoing legal proceeding in the Western District of Louisiana.
Energy workers group sues Biden administration over its pause on new LNG export contracts
The Texas-based Oil & Gas Workers Association is suing to stop the Biden administration’s current pause in new approvals of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export agreements with legal help from the New Orleans-based Pelican Institute for Public Policy.
State's high court suspends Baton Rouge lawyer who called himself 'Emperor of the American Empire'
A Baton Rouge attorney who referred to himself in court filings as “Emperor of the American Empire” and “Christian Emperor d’Orleans” has been suspended by the state Supreme Court and ordered not to be reinstated until submitting to a mental health exam.
New Louisiana law barring people from approaching police officers seen as First Amendment threat
A new Louisiana law that makes it a crime to approach police officers engaged in their official duties will likely face a legal challenge due to its encroachment on First Amendment rights, the head of a statewide criminal defense attorney group predicts.
Republican senator's bill would offer insurance rate relief for Louisiana Citizens customers
Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. would suspend a 10% surcharge paid by customers in the state’s coastal zone and be shielded from bad-faith penalties if a newly amended bill is enacted into law.
Business groups urge Louisiana Senate leaders to jumpstart stalled tort-reform bills
A coalition of Louisiana business groups is urging state Senate leaders to break a legislative logjam that has kept a pair of tort-reform bills stalled in the Senate Judiciary A committee.
U.S. Supreme Court allows Louisiana to use disputed congressional map for fall elections
Overturning a lower court decision, the U.S. Supreme Court last week allowed Louisiana's fall election preparations to go forward using a congressional redistricting map passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jeff Landry in January.
Senate panel puts the brakes on 2 key tort reforms that sailed through Louisiana House
Two key Louisiana tort-reform bills remained stalled in Senate Judiciary Committee A this week even after they overwhelmingly passed the state House of Representatives in March.
Louisiana governor signs 4 insurance reform bills in bid to lower rates
Gov. Jeff Landry last week signed into law four insurance reform bills backed by Louisiana’s insurance commissioner that the governor said will help to drive down property insurance costs for the state’s homeowners.
Louisiana high court to reconsider ruling striking down law giving sex assault victims 'lookback window'
In an unusual move, the Louisiana Supreme Court on Friday granted a rehearing of its recent split decision overturning a state law that gave childhood sexual abuse victims additional time to sue their alleged assailants.
Federal court throws out Louisiana congressional map with 2 majority-Black districts
A federal court has rejected Louisiana’s newly redrawn congressional map, creating uncertainty about fast-approaching fall election deadlines and sending voting-rights advocates on a scramble to get the U.S. Supreme Court to sort out the matter.
'Nuclear verdicts' in Louisiana last year totaled $437 million, new study finds
Louisiana jury awards exceeding $10 million over the years 2009 to 2023 amounted to a total payout of $9.97 billion, making the Bayou State sixth in the nation in terms of the combined value of these so-called “nuclear verdicts.”