Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch recognizes Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week
Baton Rouge, La. – Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week is observed annually the first full week in October by Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch (LLAW), the Louisiana Legal Reform Coalition (LLRC) and other civil justice reform organizations across the country. This grassroots effort is aimed at informing citizens about the significant costs and economic consequences of lawsuit abuse.
“Louisianans deserve long-term, comprehensive reforms that promote fairness and bring opportunity to all our residents,” said LLAW Executive Director Lana Venable. “Unprecedented coastal litigation has already resulted in one ‘nuclear verdict’ of more than $745 million against Chevron, with more than 40 similar cases against oil and gas companies in the queue. This sends the wrong message to investors and job creators and reinforces our reputation as one of the worst places in the country to do business,” she added.
The impacts of lawsuit abuse go well beyond a single business or issue. A fair and balanced civil justice system is good public policy, leading to a more stable, predictable business environment and further aligning Louisiana with other states. Adopting measures that improve transparency across the system will encourage businesses to locate and/or expand here, help retain our best and brightest citizens and attract new talent to the state.
According to Louisiana Legal Reform Coalition’s Executive Director Karen Eddlemon, “After the first two years of a legislative term, with motivated members attempting to pass meaningful reforms, we are disappointed that more has not been done. Unfortunately, attempts at passing this type of reform legislation were thwarted during the legislative session. Chief among the changes needed are phantom damages/medical transparency laws as well as moves to change the overall litigious culture of Louisiana. The constant inundation of messages to our citizens to ‘sue, sue, sue’ makes it unlikely that this will change without concerted leadership in both the executive and legislative branches. Political contributions in large amounts to influential politicians, much of which is untraceable due to the ethics laws that do not require the reporting of money to PACs, continue to result in at least the appearance that these officials can be bought.” she added.
Louisiana has consistently been recognized as having one of the worst civil justice climates in the country. The American Tort Reform Foundation ranked Louisiana as the seventh-worst Judicial Hellhole in the U.S. in its 2024-25 Report.
In January, LLAW released the 2025 Economic Benefits of Tort Reform, a study conducted by The Perryman Group for Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse. The study found that Louisiana continues to lose jobs and revenue because of the state’s civil justice system. Excessive tort litigation in Louisiana resulted in about $2.9 million in personal income losses to residents, state gross product losses of more than $4.6 million and roughly 40,000 lost jobs. Additionally, state government losses totaled over $240 million, with local governments losing more than $200 million.
As these statistics show, all Louisianans pay the price when the state’s legal system is abused. The goal of Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week is to shine a light on abusive lawsuits and questionable legal practices – and to inform hardworking citizens of the sometimes hidden costs of lawsuit abuse. It is up to all Louisianans to demand an end lawsuit abuse and ensure fairness and balance in our civil justice system.
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About Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch (LLAW)
Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch (LLAW) is a high-impact watchdog group with nearly 20,000 supporters across the state dedicated to fixing Louisiana’s broken legal system through transparency, accountability, and lawsuit reform. Visit us on Facebook, Twitter and www.llaw.org.
