Louisiana Senate Bill 731 would authorize the Louisiana Attorney General to “enter into a contingent fee contract with a contracting private attorney or law firm appointed for representation of the state or any of its agencies, boards, commissions or departments for claims relating to the recovery of state property or state funds or the payment of compensation owed to the state or any of its agencies, boards,or commissions on a contingent fee basis” if certain commissions are met.

For the current version of this legislation, click here: Louisiana Senate Bill 731.

Senate Bill No. 155, by Senator Murray, would prohibit contractual credit to a UM carrier for workers’ compensation and medical paid.  The current version of the bill can be viewed on the Louisiana Legislature website: Current Text of Louisiana Senate Bill 155

A Louisiana Sentate bill has been called to our attention in which LADC members (and their clients) may have an interest.  Senate Bill No. 547 would enact Civil Code Article 2315.8 to provide for exemplary damages upon proof of “willful and wanton misconduct.”  If enacted into law, this bill would authorize punitive damages for tort claims. The bill has been assigned to Senate Judiciary A. The current version of the bill can be viewed on the Louisiana Legislature website: Current Text of Louisiana Senate Bill 547 re Punitive Damages.

The LADC is proud to announce the election of a new secretary-treasurer and 11 new directors. Congratulations and thank you to our new officer and new directors, and thank you to all members who participated in the nomination and election process.

Incoming Officers

The new secretary-treasurer, from District 1, is Marta-Ann Schnabel (O’Bryon & Schnabel).  The other officers move up as follows: Ron Sholes, president; Ben Mayeaux, president-elect; Tom Buck, first vice president; Skip Philips, second vice president; and Drake Lee, immediate past president.

Incoming Directors

The new directors are as follows:

District 1 (New Orleans and Surrounding Area): Michael S. Sepcich (Bradley Murchison); Tara Mason (Lobman Carnahan); Dan Dorsey (Porteous Hainkel).

Dist. 2 (Baton Rouge and surrounding area): Victor Gregoire (Kean Miller);  Gracella Simmons (Keogh, Cox & Wilson)

Dist. 3 (Lafayette and surrounding area): Mike Juneau (Juneau David)

Dist. 4 (Lake Charles and surrounding area): John Simpson (Stockwell Sievert)

Dist. 5 (Alexandria and surrounding area): None. (Two were elected in 2009 after a director resigned in 2008 after being elected to the bench.)

Dist. 6 (Shreveport and surrounding area): Tim Allen (Blanchard Walker); Michael Lowe (Cook Yancey); Sarah Kirkpatrick (Bradley Murchison)

Dist. 7 (Monroe and surrounding area): John B. Hoychick (Cotton Bolton)

Outgoing Directors

We also thank our directors who just completed their two-year terms:

Dist. 1: Peter Donovan, Jim Nieset, Trey Paulsen

Dist. 2: Darrell Loup and Dan Reed

Dist. 3: Tim Basden

Dist. 4: Bill Swift

Dist. 5: None

Dist. 6: Edwin Byrd and Gregg Wilkes

Dist. 7: John Saye

For the May 2010 newsletter from the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, click here: LADC May 2010 Newsletter.

LADC ANNUAL MEETING 2010: A group of about 50 enjoyed a wonderful Annual Meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina April 11-16. Special thanks go out to President Drake Lee and First Lady Margaret Lee and Peter McLean, who did his usual remarkable job in planning and executing the annual meeting. At the closing dinner, President Lee “passed the torch” to incoming President Ron Sholes. The LADC thanks President Lee for his skillful leadership over the past year and wishes President Sholes all the best in 2010-11.

ANNUAL MEETING 2011: Start planning now to attend the 2011 Annual Meeting. After conducting a survey of the membership, President Ron Sholes has announced that the trip will be to southern France. Stay tuned for details.

LADC TRIAL ACADEMY: The twenty-sixth annual LADC Trial Academy is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 5-Saturday, Aug. 7 at Loyola Law School. Registration materials are available at www.ladc.org.

LADC SIZZLIN’ SUMMER SEMINAR, FRIDAY THE 13TH: One of the LADC’s most popular seminars is the seminar formerly known as the Attorney-Client Seminar. This year the Sizzlin’ Summer Seminar will be at the Windsor Court Hotel on Friday, Aug. 13.

In Silva v State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., the plaintiff sued defendant, defendant’s liability insurer, and plaintiff’s UM carrier.  The UM carrier was not served and subsequently was dismissed without prejudice.   The plaintiff then settled with the defendant and his insurer; the release dismissed all claims against the defendant, his insurer, and “any and all persons, firms or corporations” from claims “growing out of” the accident.  Subsequently, plaintiff sued her UM carrier; however, the court dismisses, holding that the broad language of the release agreement operated as a dismissal of claims against the UM carrier.  Fifth (La.) Circuit, No. 09-CA-686 (3/23/10) (Chehardy, J, dissenting).