With Louisiana's legal climate having been dubbed a "judicial hellhole" by the American Tort Reform Association, groups and individuals alike are calling for reform of the judicial system that has cost the state $1.1 billion a year.
Chris John, president of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, is one of those speaking out about the state of Louisiana.
"The broad coalition of interested parties involved in this discussion should speak volumes. As is evident, this isn’t an isolated issue," John told the Louisiana Record. "This spans everything from the coastal lawsuits, insurance rates, jury-trial thresholds, among others."
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According to a piece written by Stephanie Riegel in BusinessReport.com, the business community is already working hard to bring about much-needed reform, specifically in the area of tort litigations.
Families and businesses in Louisiana are being forced to seek out work in other states, as the current climate at home is such that the costs of having a company in Louisiana is simply not practical when compared to neighboring states, such as Texas.
Indeed, John said the number of groups that are working together to bring the reform that is so needed in Louisiana should be a red flag in and of itself, as it indicates how much the state could lose without the right action.
"Seeing this many disparate interests aligned on a topic should raise the alarm on what is at stake, namely Louisiana’s long-term viability as a place to do business," John said.
Groups including the Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch and the Louisiana Coalition for Common Sense and energy industry companies are taking up the fight for more reform.
Currently, Louisiana is ranked the eighth worst state in the nation when it comes to tort-related lawsuits and the toll on the workforce is costing 15,500 jobs a year.