by David Jacobs, The Center Square | December 10, 2020 02:00 PM Print this article
A package of legal changes that state business lobbyists supported and lawmakers approved failed to get Louisiana off the American Tort Reform Association’s annual list of “judicial hellholes.”
This is the eighth consecutive year Louisiana has been on the list, which identifies courts, jurisdictions and litigation in which defendants are not treated fairly. Critics call the list “pro-corporate propaganda” that reflects political goals, not research into the courts.
This year, the Louisiana Legislature approved a bill that Gov. John Bel Edwards signed making a series of changes to the state’s civil justice system. The new law reduces the amount that must be at stake to guarantee the right to a civil jury trial from $50,000, by far the highest threshold in the nation, to $10,000.