Latest Louisiana Headlines
All the headlines from our Louisiana Topic Page, ordered by recency.
$7.1M Settlement in Louisiana Red-Light Camera Suit OK’d
Nov 15 2015 // A $7.1 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit involving the controversial red-light camera system used in Louisiana’s Jefferson Parish from 2007 until 2010 has been approved. The Advocate reports checks will go...
Louisiana Parish Drops Wetlands Suits Against Oil, Gas Companies
Nov 15 2015 // A coastal Louisiana parish has voted to drop its lawsuits against oil and gas companies over damages officials had said the oil industry caused to wetlands by digging numerous canals. The Plaquemines Parish council voted...
Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance to Shed More Policies in 2016
Nov 15 2015 // Louisiana’s property insurer of last resort expects to shift about 10,000 policies to private insurance companies for 2016, a move that will reduce premiums by roughly $20 million. Interim Chief Executive Officer...
Louisiana OMV: More than 41K Collection Letter Cases Resolved
Nov 6 2015 // The Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles has cleared more than 41,000 cases of drivers flagged for having lapsed insurance coverage, collecting about $6 million in fines. That’s the latest data released by Col. Mike...
Jury Awards Former LA Times Columnist $7.1M in Discrimination Suit
Nov 6 2015 // A jury has awarded $7.13 million to former Los Angeles Times sports columnist T.J. Simers, who claimed he was forced out of his $234,000-a-year job by age and health discrimination. The Superior Court jury made the lawsuit...
Louisiana Citizens Looks to Shed Questionable Insurance Deductible
Nov 5 2015 // Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. may soon end the longstanding, and apparently unique, practice of selling policies that include a $10,000 deductible for non-hurricane damage. Chief Financial Officer Steve...
Louisiana OMV Defends Insurance Fine Collection Letters
Nov 2 2015 // The leader of Louisiana’s Office of Motor Vehicles on Oct. 30 defended its mass mailing of 1.1 million collection letters to drivers for lapsed insurance coverage, saying the effort was aimed at clearing records and...
Federal Drought Aid Expanded in Louisiana, Mississippi
Nov 2 2015 // About 70 percent of Mississippi counties and Louisiana parishes – 57 of 82 counties and 45 of 64 parishes – are now eligible for drought disaster aid, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. The department has added...
Louisiana Auto Insurance Fine Collection Letters Hit Raw Nerves
Nov 2 2015 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon has condemned a move by the state Office of Motor Vehicles that hit Louisiana citizens with 1.2 million debt collection notices related to lapsed auto insurance. The OMV in...
Donelon Re-Elected Insurance Commissioner in Louisiana
Nov 2 2015 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon has won another four-year term. Donelon, a Republican from Metairie, sailed to re-election on Oct. 24, defeating three challengers without needing a runoff. His challengers...
Louisiana Supreme Court Says Grocer Not 100% Liable for Slip and Fall
Nov 2 2015 // In a decision handed down in mid-October, the Louisiana Supreme Court reversed an appeals court decision assigning 100 percent liability to a grocery store in a customer slip and fall case. Louisiana’s Third Circuit...
Louisiana Workers’ Comp Insurance Rates Set to Decline Again
Oct 26 2015 // Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon reports that Louisiana businesses are expected to see a decrease in their workers’ compensation rates in 2016. The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) recently...
Donelon Re-Elected Insurance Commissioner in Louisiana
Oct 26 2015 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon is returning for another four-year term. Donelon, a Republican from Metairie, sailed to re-election on Oct. 24, defeating three challengers without needing a runoff. His...
Louisiana Supreme Court: Grocer not 100% Liable for Slip, Fall
Oct 23 2015 // In a decision handed down in mid-October, the Louisiana Supreme Court reversed an appeals court decision assigning 100 percent liability to a grocery store in a customer slip and fall case. Louisiana’s Third Circuit...
Letters Warn Louisiana Drivers of Fines for Lapsed Insurance
Oct 22 2015 // The Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles has issued a mass mailing of 1.2 million letters to drivers with lapsed insurance, warning them a collections agency might be deployed if fines of up to $525 go unpaid. The Advocate...
People – South Central
Oct 19 2015 // The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers elected Bill Henry as the group’s 2016 chairman. Henry is CEO and chairman of Dallas-based MHBT, a Marsh & McLennan Agency company. Henry succeeds Steve Brockmeyer,...
Texas, Louisiana See Uptick in Fatal Occupational Injuries
Oct 19 2015 // Preliminary data show that there was a 3 percent increase in fatal occupational injuries in Texas in 2014 over the previous year, state workers’ compensation insurance regulators report. Louisiana also saw a slight...
Residents Evacuate as Wildfire Burns in Northwestern Louisiana
Oct 15 2015 // Authorities say a series of wildfires have burned more than two square miles in northwestern Louisiana and threatened homes. Louisiana State Police said in a statement that the fires started Tuesday afternoon in Bienville...
BP to Pay Louisiana $58M for Legal Fees, Oil Spill Litigation Cost
Oct 14 2015 // BP will reimburse $58.25 million to the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office for its expenses, fees and litigation costs tied to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The Advocate reports money...
Gas Pipeline Explosion Kills 3 Workers in Louisiana
Oct 11 2015 // A maintenance company has released the names of two of the three people killed in a pipeline explosion in Louisiana’s Terrebonne Parish on Oct. 8. Danos, an oil and gas service company, says two of their contract...