GOP gubernatorial candidate Jeff Landry has reportedly received more than $700,000 from trial attorneys, a constituency that usually backs Democrats, prompting concerns that Landry might be less committed to civil litigation reforms than other hopefuls.
Nola.com reported that the amount Landry raised from trial lawyers, whose views on reform efforts to reduce the number of civil lawsuits filed in the state often differ with those of business groups, has surpassed the donations Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards received from the trial bar at this time four years ago.
In its most recent campaign financing report filed with the Louisiana Board of Ethics, the Landry campaign reported that Louisiana law firms gave more than $32,000 to the campaign.
Kevin Cunningham, legislative counsel of the Louisiana Legal Reform Coalition (LLRC), expressed concern about Landry’s financial support from trial attorneys – donations that seemed to have bypassed the sole Democrat in the governor’s race, Shawn Wilson.
“Although we understand and support the idea that active diverse participation in the election system is an integral part of the process, what is most concerning are the statements attributed (by Nola.com) to an individual claiming to be speaking on behalf of the trial bar, stating, ‘he (Landry) gave me his word that he would be a friend to trial lawyers and trial lawyers will be a friend to him,’” Cunningham said in an email to the Louisiana Record.
The comment seemed to reflect the notion that friendship is more essential than good public policy and that friendship can be bought, he said.
“This type of statement continues to undermine the public's trust in our elected officials and further erodes the belief the system is fair and balanced,” Cunningham said.
Nevertheless, the LRCC is hopeful that whoever wins this fall’s race for governor will back tort reforms based on their merit and not on the basis of campaign donations, he said.
“LLRC is planning an aggressive legal reform agenda, and we look forward to gaining the support of a broad coalition who are interested in moving this state forward,” Cunningham said. “We believe that coalition will include Attorney General Landry if he is elected the next governor.”
Landry’s campaign reported this week that he now has more than $8 million in cash on hand after raising $3 million since July.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Sharon Hewitt, a Republican state senator from Slidell, has made excessive lawsuits against the oil industry and other companies an issue in her campaign. She sees Landry as sympathetic to lawsuits filed by parishes against hundreds of energy companies, alleging the oil and gas companies are to blame for coastal erosion.
“This litigation supported by the governor and the attorney general is a lose/lose for the state and the industry and a winner for trial lawyers,” a post on Hewitt’s website states. “I will stop it.”
Landry’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.