The House Civil Law and Procedure Committee advanced multiple bills April 15 intended to change how courts handle personal‑injury claims, medical billing evidence and fault allocation — reforms proponents say are needed to ease Louisiana’s high insurance costs.

The committee voted to move five bills to the full House: a prescriptive‑period cleanup (HB291), higher recovery thresholds for uninsured motorists (HB434), a measure that would overturn the Housley presumption (HB450), a pre‑suit notice requirement when plaintiffs retain counsel (HB443), a bill to let juries see evidence about the actual or reasonable medical costs (HB34), and a shift to a modified comparative‑fault standard with a 51% bar to recovery (HB431). Some measures passed with recorded roll calls; others moved on unanimous voice or no‑objection motions.

Why it matters: lawmakers, insurance agents and business owners at the hearing said Louisiana’s auto and commercial‑auto insurance markets are strained and that litigation practice and medical billing are major cost drivers. Supporters argued the package will reduce frivolous suits and “phantom” damages — billed medical amounts that do not reflect amounts actually paid or owed — and therefore reduce premium pressure. Opponents cautioned that changes could limit remedies for seriously injured plaintiffs and urged a more balanced, collaborative drafting process.

Key provisions and outcomes

- HB291 (Representative Gallet) — cleanup tied to last session’s change in prescription periods for wrongful‑death actions, maintaining a two‑year prescriptive period for certain causes of action. Committee: sent to the floor by unanimous/no‑objection motion (no roll‑call vote recorded in committee). Representative Gallet opened the committee and described the measure as a “cleanup bill.”

- HB434 (Representative DeWitt) — raises the minimum recovery thresholds for uninsured motorists: bodily‑injury recovery from $15,000 to $100,000 and property‑damage recovery from $25,000 to $100,000; also includes a provision that plaintiffs awarded $100,000 or less would be liable for court costs. The committee adopted technical amendments and, on a roll‑call, reported the bill to the floor (11 yays, 2 nays). Representative DeWitt and a large group of insurer and trade groups filed supporting testimony; one card in opposition was recorded.

- HB450 (Representative Mellerin) — would overturn the Housley presumption that can favor plaintiffs absent evidence of a preexisting condition. Representative Mellerin said the bill “undoes that presumption and make[s] it so that you have to prove every aspect of your allegation.” The committee sent HB450 to the floor by no‑objection motion.

- HB443 (Representative Henry) — would require that plaintiffs’ counsel send written notice to the defendant within 10 business days of retention and originally included an insurer‑notification requirement; an amendment removed the insurer notification. The bill requires the notice to include basic items such as plaintiff and attorney names, accident location and nature of injuries; delivery was described in committee as by certified electronic mail. The committee adopted an amendment (11 68) removing the provision that the defendant’s insurer must be notified if the plaintiff retains counsel. Committee discussion focused on how the 10‑business‑day clock would be measured, what constitutes “certified electronic mail,” and what sanctions a judge could impose; Rep. Henry and Adam Patrick (legislative liaison, Louisiana Department of Insurance) said the 10‑day window was meant to give defendants time to prepare and to encourage settlements. The motion to report HB443 to the floor drew an objection and went to a roll call; the committee reported the bill to the floor (vote details: passed on roll call; tallies not specified in committee transcript for all individual members).

- HB34 (Representative Glorioso) — would change what juries see and what parties can introduce about medical expenses in tort cases so juries can consider the amounts actually paid or what is reasonable instead of only the provider’s billed amount. Rep. Glorioso framed the bill as a transparency measure to prevent phantom damages and said it “allows both parties to put on evidence as to whether or not their medical expenses are reasonable and justified.” The committee adopted a series of technical amendments and reported the bill to the floor on a roll call (11 yes, 3 no). Supporters included the Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) and business witnesses; opponents raised concerns about increased litigation costs for small firms and about balancing disclosure between plaintiffs and defendants.

- HB431 (Representative Chennavier) — would move Louisiana from a pure comparative‑fault system to a modified comparative‑fault rule with a 51% bar (a plaintiff who is 51% or more at fault could not recover). Supporters said most other states use a modified system and that the change would reduce the number of claims filed and encourage settlements; Sid Deegan (defense attorney), Will Green (State Chamber), and industry witnesses supported the bill. The committee reported HB431 to the floor on a roll call (11 yeas, 4 nays).

Discussion highlights

- Transparency about medical bills: Rep. Glorioso argued juries are currently “blindfolded” by seeing only billed amounts, not contracted or paid amounts; she said the committee’s bill would let juries see evidence about what was actually paid or what is reasonable. She noted Texas law limits recovery to amounts actually paid or incurred and said her measure was a civil‑law adaptation that lets juries consider reasonable amounts.

- Pre‑suit notice and sanctions: Rep. Henry said HB443 is intended to “level the playing field” so defendants have earlier notice and can preserve evidence. Adam Patrick, legislative liaison for the Department of Insurance, told the committee “10 business days was a reasonable amount of time” to transmit basic information like plaintiff and attorney names, accident location and nature of injuries. Members asked how the 10‑day clock would start and whether sanctions should be part of the bill; Rep. Henry said he would work on clarifying language between committee and floor.

- Market testimony and business impact: multiple business owners and independent agents described steep premium increases and reduced carrier availability. Todd Hine, Hine Environmental Services, said his company’s renewal was “$1,400,000” and “I pay over $49,000 per truck,” and said higher premiums had forced cuts to employee benefits. Representatives of the PIA, the State Chamber and other trade groups urged action to bring carriers back to Louisiana.

- Concerns about one‑sided reforms: several members urged collaborative drafting and warned against piecemeal changes that might advantage one side. Representative Taylor repeatedly asked that any new disclosure or notice obligations be reciprocal so both plaintiffs and defendants share similar duties.

Authorities and legal references

- Court case: Housley (referred to in committee testimony as the presumption addressed by HB450). The bill was described as “expressly overturning the Housley case.”
- Statute cited in amendment language for HB34: RS 9:9280.27 (amendment language read in committee referencing RS 9:9280.27 a–d and repealing subsections e–g in the technical amendment set). Committee staff cited amendment sets by number during debate.

What’s next

All six bills were reported to the House floor for further consideration; several will be considered with the technical amendments adopted in committee. Supporters said the group of bills together address litigation frequency, medical‑bill inflation and clarity for juries and courts; opponents said more negotiation and reciprocity are needed to avoid unintended consequences for injured claimants and small law practices.

Votes at a glance (committee action)

- HB291 (Rep. Gallet): reported to the floor; no roll‑call recorded in committee (no objection).
- HB434 (Rep. DeWitt): adopted technical amendments; reported to the floor on roll call (11 yays, 2 nays).
- HB450 (Rep. Mellerin): reported to the floor (no objection recorded).
- HB443 (Rep. Henry): amendment adopted removing insurer‑notification requirement; reported to the floor after roll call (committee transcript records a roll call and passage; exact roll‑call tallies not specified in the transcript for all members).
- HB34 (Rep. Glorioso): technical amendments adopted; reported to the floor on roll call (11 yes, 3 no).
- HB431 (Rep. Chennavier): amendment adopted on the threshold; reported to the floor on roll call (11 yeas, 4 nays).

Speakers and testimony (selection)

- Representative Muscarello, chair, House Civil Law and Procedure Committee (presiding).
- Representative Gallet (opened HB291).
- Representative DeWitt (sponsor, HB434).
- Representative Mellerin / Millerin (sponsor, HB450).
- Representative Henry (sponsor, HB443).
- Representative Glorioso (sponsor, HB34).
- Representative Chennavier (sponsor, HB431).
- Adam Patrick, legislative liaison, Louisiana Department of Insurance (testified on HB443: “10 business days was a reasonable amount of time…”).
- Tim Temple, Louisiana Insurance Commissioner (testified in support: “This is a good bill. It's good for the people of Louisiana.”).
- Todd Hine, Hine Environmental Services (testified in support; described large premium increases: “My renewal was $1,400,000 … I pay over $49,000 per truck.”).
- Bailey Chandler, Drew Fourier, Clyde Boney and other PIA representatives (testified in support).
- Sid Deegan (defense attorney; testified in support of HB431).

Proper names (selected)

[{"name":"Housley","type":"court_case"},{"name":"RS 9:9280.27","type":"statute"},{"name":"Hine Environmental Services","type":"business"},{"name":"Professional Insurance Agents (PIA)","type":"organization"},{"name":"Louisiana Department of Insurance","type":"agency"},{"name":"House Civil Law and Procedure Committee","type":"other"}]

Clarifying details

[{"category":"prescriptive_period","detail":"HB291 maintains a two‑year prescriptive period for certain wrongful‑death causes of action (update from prior session)","value":"2","units":"years","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Representative Gallet"},{"category":"uninsured_thresholds","detail":"HB434 raises bodily injury recovery from $15,000 to $100,000 and property damage from $25,000 to $100,000","value":"$100000","units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Representative DeWitt"},{"category":"pre_suit_notice","detail":"HB443 would require plaintiffs’ counsel to send specified written notice within 10 business days of retention; the committee removed a provision that would have required notifying defendants’ insurers","value":"10","units":"business days","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Representative Henry"},{"category":"medical_evidence","detail":"HB34 would allow juries to see evidence about amounts actually paid or a reasonable amount rather than only billed amounts; amendment text referenced RS 9:9280.27","source_speaker":"Representative Glorioso"},{"category":"comparative_fault_threshold","detail":"HB431 shifts to modified comparative fault with a 51% bar to recovery","value":"51","units":"percent","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Representative Chennavier"}]

Meeting context

- Engagement level: committee heard extended debate and dozens of witness cards; multiple industry witnesses and small business owners testified; several amendment sets were offered and adopted.
- Implementation risk: Medium — many measures change admissibility/discovery rules or statutory allocations and would affect litigation practice; some language (sanctions, certified electronic mail) flagged for cleanup before floor.
- History: bills respond to issues raised in prior sessions (e.g., prior change to prescriptive periods and prior collateral source adjustments).

Searchable tags

["auto insurance","medical billing","comparative fault","civil law","HB34","HB431","HB443","HB434","HB450","HB291","Louisiana"]

Provenance

{"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"b12","local_start":0,"local_end":111,"evidence_excerpt":"Good morning, everybody. Welcome to civil law. We're gonna start this morning with, House Bill 2 91, Representative Gallet.","tc_start":"00:00:58.65","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"b_last","local_start":0,"local_end":120,"evidence_excerpt":"We have a motion by representative Brown or representative Carlson to adjourn. Seeing no objection, we are adjourned.","tc_end":"03:05:07.00","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]}

Editor’s note: quotes and attributed statements in this report match remarks recorded in the committee transcript. The committee adopted a number of technical amendments (identified in transcript amendment sets) and asked authors to work with members on clarifying language before floor debate.