At Neblett Beard and Arsenault, we represent people from all over the country who have been injured and defrauded. During that work, we have practiced before the Judicial Panel of Multi-District Litigation, a panel of judges that coordinates litigation pending in different courts throughout the country. A Louisiana state senator wants to duplicate that process on the state level, and will ask the Louisiana Law Institute to study issues associated with “dueling class actions.”
Two class actions, all arising from the post-Katrina adjusting practices by Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp., were filed in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes. These “dueling class actions” have raised this issue in many people’s minds. Other states, such as New Jersey, Texas, and California have “state-wide MDL” statutes similar to the ones established by the Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation.
I encourage our legislators and members of the Louisiana Law Institute to carefully study the advantages and pitfalls of any changes to our rules for the handling of such cases. We have seen these issues firsthand and look forward to hearing other’s ideas on this important issue.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2011
