Supreme Court Justice Jeff Hughes scores initial victory in lawsuit against The Advocate

Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Jeff Hughes scored a significant victory in his defamation suit against The Advocate, the state’s largest daily newspaper, when a district court determined he had established a “probability of success” on his claim.

Hughes is suing The Advocate on charges that the newspaper defamed him when it published in 2019 that Hughes had ruled on a 1999 custody case while dating the attorney for one of the litigants. Hughes claims the publication was false and that The Advocate knew it was false, due to its own investigation and court documents in its possession, thus exhibiting actual malice toward him. Read more...

Garey Forster: Avalanche of lawsuits and lawyer ads hurts Louisiana businesses

It’s that time of year when you’re thinking holidays and presents under the tree. But business is thinking the annual "Judicial Hellholes" report.

Judicial hellholes are the most unjust local courts and state civil justice systems in the country. American Tort Reform Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 1997, produces the report to educate the general public about how the American civil justice system operates, the role of tort law in the civil justice system, and the impact of tort law on the private, public and business sectors. Read more...

Insurance commissioner: Bogus online statistics about cost of car insurance in Louisiana

Throughout my public service career, I’ve always held great respect for the journalists who cover the State Capitol. While we all have heard a lot about “fake news” at the national level, I think the local media outlets typically try hard to accurately report the facts in their coverage of state government.

However, on Nov. 28, this newspaper’s chief political reporter wrote a story with the headline, "Louisiana pays less for taxes and auto insurance, analysts say." In the piece, he cites an online, out-of-state analysis that put our state’s average auto insurance premium at $985. As Louisiana’s sole elected official charged with regulating the insurance industry, I can tell you with absolute certainty that the figure the reporter used has absolutely no basis in reality. Read more...