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Last week, we reminded our subscribers of Gov. Edwards’ stand on Louisiana’s $50,000 civil jury trial threshold.  We did so knowing that Gov. Edwards would be the guest at today’s Baton Rouge Press Club (BRPC) meeting and we’d have the opportunity to ask him if his sentiments have changed.  At only 98 seconds, the video is short (especially by Sound Off Louisiana standards), so let’s take a look both at his historical statement and his current stand on that $50,000 threshold:

Sound Off Louisiana’s Robert Burns reminds Gov. Edwards of his stand on the $50,000 jury trial threshold from 4 1/2 years ago and asks him if his sentiments have changed.

As is obvious from the video, Gov. Edwards, though being somewhat vague and leaving a tad of wiggle room, really makes no secret of the fact he is virtually certain to veto any bill that substantially lowers the jury trial threshold.  Therefore, our advice to Republican legislators, who heard from voters across this state loud and clear in the 2019 elections that they are fed up with Louisiana’s judicial hell hole and its implications on their insurance rates, is to show some guts and get set to override Edwards’ veto!

For those legislators who are inclined to fail to override his veto, we’ll have a webpage specifically established (with photos) outlining exactly which Republicans lacked such conviction.  In fact, we are so supremely confident that Gov. Edwards will veto tort reform that we’ve already created a webpage to hold Republicans who fail to support an override of his veto accountable.

We even used one state representative whom we see as highly likely to vote “no” on an override as the guinea pig for the page (subscribers are invited to click on the preceding link to reveal the identity of said legislator).  If our guinea pig legislator opts to support an override of Gov. Edwards, we’ll be more than  happy to remove the entry as well as issue a public apology for our misguided prediction!

The bottom line, however, is that we are going to strive to make it easier for voters in those Republicans’ districts to be aware of their stand supporting the current out-of-control judicial system in Louisiana!

To see Gov. Edwards’ presentation in its entirety (including his plans to actively support diversionary legislation authored by Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, which is the trial-lawyer backed initiatives to “reduce insurance premiums,”) CLICK HERE.  Note:  Edwards references Luneau’s legislation at the 14 minute mark of the video.

Soon after Sound Off Louisiana was founded (after a ton of persuasion by the late C. B. Forgotston for founder Robert Burns to do so), and back when almost nobody had a clue who we were, we produced a feature on October 31, 2015 which focused on the drastic differences regarding Louisiana’s $50,000 civil jury trial threshold between the two runoff candidates for Governor, then-State Rep. John Bel Edwards (D-Amite) and then-U. S. Sen. David Vitter (R-Metairie).

As we mentioned in the feature, we had to make use of technology to highlight those differences because then-candidate Edwards adamantly refused to attend a business-sponsored candidate forum at which he knew the question would be posed.  As a result, Burns merely asked Edwards (and the other candidates) the same question at a subsequent Baton Rouge Press Club (BRPC) meeting.

We’re about to provide a six-minute highlight of the video we aired back then because we think Edwards’ response to the question on that $50,000 jury trial threshold provides key insight into his true feelings and just how much of a battle State Sen. Kirk Talbot and State Rep. Raymond Garofalo face as they present stringent tort reform measures in the upcoming 2020 Louisiana Legislative Session:

Candidates Edwards and Vitter spar (though on separate occasions) about the topic of Louisiana’s $50,000 civil jury trial threshold and its significant adverse economic impacts (according to Vitter) or total lack thereof (according to Edwards).

In analyzing the preceding video, we’d like to make several points.  First, then-Sen. Vitter ran a campaign based upon a fundamental belief that Louisiana should facilitate each of its citizens having a fundamental right (presently afforded citizens of 36 other states) to insist upon a civil jury trial decided by his or her peers irrespective of the dollar amount involved.

Accordingly, Burns asked Edwards if he too thought Louisiana citizens should have that same right as citizens in 36 other states.

In Edwards’ response, which begins at the 3:34 mark of the video, he first expresses appreciation for the question.  Trust us, he was not the least bit appreciative, but he’s also very good at deploying platitudes in just such situations.

Next, Edwards, either genuinely or being sly, expressed an apparent  misunderstanding of the question in saying, “I don’t believe there’s a constitutional right to a trial by jury,” to which Burns replied, “I’m asking if you THINK citizens should have that right.”

Once Edwards was perfectly clear on the question, we believe he provided a totally honest and truthful one-word answer:  “No.”

At the 3:46 mark of the video, Edwards states his resolute belief that the present $50,000 jury trial threshold is, “fair, reasonable, and strikes at the right balance.”

He then went on to state his belief that Louisiana certainly wouldn’t want “$8,000 finder benders” being decided by jury.  Those words (assuming Edwards isn’t willing to back off of them) would indicate Edwards certainly doesn’t plan to sign any legislative initiative which contains a jury trial threshold anywhere near as low as $8,000!

To counter Edwards’ arguments (beyond the video of Vitter doing so very, very effectively above), we want to draw focus on just how a FAR, FAR less than “$8,000 fender bender” resulted in a $48,500 award.

To do so, we merely encourage everyone to see all of that material (complete with photo and documentation links) which is available at the link for that October 31, 2015 feature.  That material even includes a letter from State Farm Insurance stating its decision to settle the case is based at least in part by the judge who drew the case (19th JDC Judge Janice Clark).

The results of the 2019 Legislative races contained one crystal-clear message, and that is that the public, and the small business community and their families in particular, are fed up with the same system that Gov. Edwards describes as, “fair, reasonable, and strikes at the right balance.”

If Republican legislators fail to pass meaningful tort reform with teeth that dramatically transforms Louisiana’s present business-hostile environment, we fully expect those Republicans opposing such an initiative to experience an end to their political careers with that one vote.  If they do pass meaningful tort reform and Gov. Edwards vetoes it, then we likewise believe those Republicans failing to support a veto-override on the measure can also kiss their political futures goodbye!

It should be a REALLY, REALLY interesting upcoming 2020 Louisiana Legislative Session, and we at Sound Off Louisiana can’t wait for it to kick off!

On October 17, 2019, LSP Master Trooper Dean Coates appeared before the Louisiana State Police Commission (LSPC) requesting an investigation into why he and numerous other LSP Troopers were not afforded their longevity pay raises.  As the feature makes clear, Coates sued LSP the day after he procured the assurance from LSPC that an investigation would be conducted.  The suit essentially alleges that, unless troopers are in the “chosen class” (which the vast majority of troopers are alleged not to include), the longevity pay raise would be denied.

Regarding Coates’ lawsuit, LSP has responded by filing exceptions of prematurity, lack of standing to sue, as well as a dilatory exception (essentially a statement that the cause of action has not been sufficiently succinctly stated).

At the February 13, 2020 LSPC meeting, the results of the investigation were discussed by the LSPC, and the following video captures what its members had to say on the matter:

LSPC discusses results of investigation requested by LSP Troopers Dean Coates and Kevin Sulcer

If nothing else, Troopers Coates and Sulcer deserve praise for being willing to pursue their rights using funds from their own pockets.  As is obvious from the preceding video, a clear-cut indication of rules violations by LSP has now been stated in no uncertain terms on the record by the LSPC.  Whether eventual remedies for Coates and Sulcer (along with the reported vast majority of other LSP troopers who were left out in the cold on their longevity pay raises) are ever available or not, these two gentlemen can, if nothing else, spike the football now that they have essentially forced the LSPC’s hand to admit that the LSP rules violations did in fact transpire.