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.
The bills now being scrutinized are HB 24 by Rep. Michael Melerine (R-Shreveport), which would require plaintiffs to have the full burden of proving causation in injury cases, and HB 336 by Rep. Emily Chenevert (R-Baton Rouge), which would require that parties or attorneys in civil cases disclose third-party litigation financing agreements to all litigants.
Senate Judiciary Committee A, whose members include several attorneys, has held up tort-reform bills in the past and is a focus of trial-attorney lobbying, according to observers.
Melerine said his legislation would remove what is called the Housley presumption, which was established by the state Supreme Court in the 1991 case Housley v. Cerise.
“Basically, what it says is that if you have an accident and you’re claiming that there’s an injury, you’re going to have to prove that the injury was caused by the accident,” Melerine told the Louisiana Record. “... Currently, the (state) Supreme Court said that if you were in good health before the accident and now you’re not, it’s presumed that the accident caused the injury.”
Many trial attorneys, however, oppose this effort to make the state’s litigation climate less onerous on businesses, he said.
“Plaintiffs’ attorneys during the hearing were claiming that it is going to cause increased litigation and increased expense and it was going to place an unfair burden on plaintiffs,” Melerine said.
Chenevert said HB 336 is simply about bringing more transparency to the litigation process.
“It basically is focusing on third-party financers who are at the table when the payout in the end is contingent on the outcome of the case,” she told the Record. “The bill is asking for (the contracts) to be revealed. It does not request the amount of money.”
Although her bill remains stalled, Chenevert said language in her bill has been added to another bill now on the House floor that deals more with foreign financing of civil litigation.
Among the groups now lobbying in support of bills that enhance lawsuit transparency and put the workings of the Louisiana litigation system in line with those of other states is the Louisiana Motor Transport Association (LMTA), which represents trucking companies.
“Our insurance costs are significantly higher than those in neighboring states, averaging about $10,000 more per truck annually, and we are simply asking for a fair competitive environment,” Renee Amar, the LMTA’s executive director, said in a statement. “Frequent lawsuits from accidents drive up insurance costs and discourage driver recruitment, while the resulting lost work and time spent dealing with insurance and legal issues hinder business growth.”
The bills working their way through the Legislature are needed to ensure “fair and equitable processes within our state,” Amar said.
Lana Venable, executive director of Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch, said the state continues to be beset by legal costs that burden the economy.
“Almost $1,000 per individual last year were paid in hidden tort taxes because of these kinds of abuses that we see,” Venable said.
Tort-reform supporters have also expressed rising concerns about third-party litigation funding, contending that the process could lead an attorney to put the funder’s interests ahead of what’s best for plaintiffs.