BATON ROUGE — Gov. John Bel Edwards recently signed a bill that amends and expands existing legislation concerning the assignment of legal fees in domestic abuse suits.
House Bill No. 100, sponsored by state Rep. Malinda White (D-Bogalusa), allows for the court to award costs of court and other legal fees to the defendant of a domestic abuse suit when the court finds the plaintiff's claims are fraudulent or frivolous.
The bill also expands on existing legislation concerning the assignment of court costs, attorney fees and other related costs. In certain domestic abuse suits, these costs are to be assigned to the perpetrator of the abuse.
In the state House, HB100 received 98 "yeas" and 0 "nays". The state Senate voted in favor of the bill, with 33 "yeas" and 0 "nays."
Edwards signed HB100 on May 15. The bill became Act No. 264 and will take effect on Aug. 1.