Coalition For Common Sense

CFCS
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The Louisiana Coalition for Common Sense (LCCS) is a group of professional associations, companies and individuals committed to ensuring a fair legal climate for both truly impaired individuals and small and large businesses operating in the state.

Formed in 2008, the group has been successful in passing legislation to clarify the rules on expert witness testimony, which saves the courts both time and money. The need for additional civil justice reform continues.  

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Judicial Hellholes List

Louisiana has landed at the No. 6 spot on the 2021-2022 Judicial Hellholes list, 
released by the American Tort Reform Foundation, moving only one spot down from last year. This marks the twelfth year jurisdictions in Louisiana have been named among the most unjust local courts and state civil justice systems in the country. 

From vetoes of legal reform bills to ongoing coastal lawsuits and misconduct in the judiciary, Louisiana is no stranger to being named a Judicial Hellhole. Marking the 20th anniversary of the report, Louisiana was named among seven “Everlasting Judicial Hellholes” earlier this summer.  

Louisiana continues to lose jobs and revenue to the tune of billions of dollars annually due to excessive civil courts costs. Every Louisianan pays a $451 “
tort tax” each year due to the costs of excessive lawsuits. The current total impact of these costs results in $3.87 billion in lost economic activity, 22,550 job losses and $1.12 billion in lost wages for hardworking Louisianans.  

If Louisiana enacted additional reforms, residents and businesses could save an estimated $2.1 billion.  

Lawsuit abuse harms average, hardworking Americans by clogging our court system with meritless and frivolous cases, taking dollars away from research and development of new consumer products, driving up insurance costs, and driving away jobs.

The 2021-22 report ranks eight Judicial Hellholes while shining a light on lawsuit abuse and its effects.

Now is the time for reform

The Louisiana Legislature is represented by a supermajority of reform-minded lawmakers who were elected to improve the state’s business and legal climate. The Legislature is determined to improve Louisiana’s economy, which has been hindered by lawsuit abuse and even further by the COVID-19 pandemic. The next regular session begins April 12, 2021. 

Legal reform has been a priority recently in the Louisiana Legislature

LCCS and its partners worked with state lawmakers to pass legal reforms for the first time in decades, including business liability projections related to the pandemic. The Civil Justice Reform Act of 2020 passed in the first special session and was signed by the governor. This landmark legislation reduced the jury trial threshold from $50,000 to $10,000, reformed direct action, repealed the seat belt evidence gag order and made improvements to calculate healthcare and medical expenses in personal injury claims. 

How we can continue to make change

Despite recent legislative advances, Louisiana’s legal climate continues to be an outlier in many respects and was recently named #5 on the list of “Judicial Hellholes” by the American Tort Reform Association. Windfalls for personal injury attorneys have resulted in a national reputation for lawsuit abuse. Solutions being considered to improve the state’s business and legal climate include:

·      Collateral Source: Eliminate phantom damages and limit recovery of medical expenses to the amount actually paid

·      Coastal Litigation: Limit the ability of third-party plaintiffs to seek civil enforcement of state-issued permits

·      Prejudgment Interest: Change the effective date of judicial interest payable from the date of filing to the date of judgment

·   Judicial Transparency: Promote the same accountability and transparency within the judicial branch as in the executive and legislative branches

·     Asbestos Trust Filing and Disclosure: Require plaintiffs to disclose to the court all money received from asbestos trust funds upon filing suit for damages

·      Deceptive Drug Lawsuit Advertisements: End misleading lawsuit advertisements seek potential plaintiffs to file suit

·      Random Case Allotment: Create an electronic filing system to ensure cases are randomly allotted to judges

 


 

 

Louisiana Legislative Session

The Regular Legislative Session began on March 14, 2022 and will adjourn by June 6, 2022. For more information on legislation, visit this page.
 
SB 383 by Sen. Barrow Peacock, R-Shreveport, was heard this morning in the Senate Committee on Judiciary A. It passed 4-2 as amended. This important consumer protection legislation would codify the limitations placed on attorney advertising in a 2011 U.S. Fifth Circuit of Appeals case. Click here to review the amendments, which were included to mirror rules enacted by the Louisiana Supreme Court earlier this year. The bill now moves to the Senate floor for debate. 
 

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