Despite the recent passage of some civil litigation reforms and COVID-19 liability protections for businesses and health care facilities, Louisiana has earned a spot on the “Judicial Hellholes” list for the eighth year in a row.
The state moved down a notch, from the No. 4 to No. 5 position, in this year’s ranking by the American Tort Reform Association (ATRF), signifying a degree of progress. But the report criticized parishes for continuing to pursue coastal erosion lawsuits against energy companies, pointed out that highway billboards are plastered with trial attorney ads and lamented the high cost of auto insurance premiums in the state.
“Judicial Hellholes have civil justice climates that allow abuse and starkly contrast with the rest of the nation, swinging open the door for trial lawyers to sue for more money over more issues,” Lana Venable, the executive director of Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch, told the Louisiana Record in an email.
The resulting economic drag on the state due to a wayward civil litigation environment weighs heavily on Louisiana, Venable said.
“These abuses of our civil justice system hurt hardworking Louisianans by clogging our court system with meritless cases, taking dollars away from development of new consumer products, driving up insurance costs and driving away jobs,” she said.
Auto insurance rates in the state have risen more than 18 percent over the past five years, to a point that Louisiana auto rates are the second highest in the nation, behind Michigan, the ATRA report says.
The report also highlights a high-stakes scheme uncovered by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Orleans, in which scammers staged collisions with 18-wheeler big-rigs to fleece trucking companies and insurers – to the tune of nearly $280,000 – by filing fraudulent claims. Attorneys and others were allegedly involved in the conspiracy, in which auto passengers falsely filed claims for mental anguish, physical pain and suffering and other injuries after the staged accidents.
Those who follow civil litigation concerns in the state point out that legislation was enacted this year that protects small businesses against unsubstantiated coronavirus civil claims and lowers the threshold to seek a jury trial from $50,000 to $10,000. But Louisiana residents want to see more reforms, they say.
“Despite the recent passage of common-sense reforms, as well as legislation enacting protections against COVID-19 liability, 65 percent of Louisianans believe lawmakers should do more to address the impact of lawsuit abuse,” Louisiana Coalition for Common Sense Executive Director Karen Eddlemon told the Record in an email. “Increased prices on goods and services, an overwhelmed court system, job losses and small business closures resulting from these abuses are top concerns for hardworking residents.”
A Weber State University study indicates that the coastal erosion lawsuits filed by seven parishes have cost the state more than 2,000 jobs in the oil and gas industry, with a yearly reduction in earnings of $70,000.
Overall, excessive tort costs in Louisiana led to the loss of 20,000 jobs in the state, as well as $1.2 billion in personal income, according to the report.
Jurisdictions in Pennsylvania, as well as New York City, also made the “Judicial Hellholes” list this year.