Louisiana House Passes Two Tort Reform Bills, Both Headed to Senate
By Avery Davidson
The Voice of Louisiana Agriculture
Two bills with the goal of lowering auto insurance rates in Louisiana are now one step closer to becoming law just days after Governor John Bel Edwards vetoed the lone tort reform bill to pass during the 2020 regular session of the Louisiana Legislature.
Louisiana farmers and ranchers are watching these bills closely because they are dependent upon the trucking industry to bring agricultural products to market.
HB 57 by Speaker Clay Schexnayder and HB 44 Representative Ray Garofalo are now headed to the Louisiana Senate. The two bills passed Monday by votes of 78 for and 22 against and 74 for and 25 against, respectively.
Schexnayder’s bill, dubbed the Civil Justice Reform Act of 2020, would lower the threshold for a jury trial to $10,000. The current limit is $50,000. Louisiana has the highest jury threshold in the country.
Garofalo’s bill, called the Omnibus Premium Reduction Act of 2020, would lower the jury threshold to $35,000, except in tort actions. In those cases, the jury threshold would be $5,000. It would also extend the time to file a lawsuit from one year to two years when the suit is for injury or damages arising from the operation of any motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or other means of conveyance.
There is another bill before the Louisiana House designed to lower auto insurance rates. HB 60 by Representative Jack McFarland, dubbed the Premium Reduction Act of 2020, passed the House Committee on Civil Law and Procedure by a vote of 9-3.
“What the people need is to vote for a tort reform bill that moves the needle in the right direction and actually has a chance of being signed into law,” said McFarland. “I believe that is this bill.”
HB 60 would lower the jury threshold from $50,000 to $35,000, except for tort actions, for which the threshold would be $15,000. That bill will next go before the full House.
Louisiana Senate Committee Judiciary A will consider HB 57 and HB 44 on Wednesday, June 17 in the John J. Hainel, Jr. room.