BATON ROUGE — A bill that would have placed a cap on general damages in civil lawsuits was blocked 5-4 by a House committee Tuesday after vigorous debate.
House Bill 526, authored by Rep. Kellee Hennessy Dickerson, R-Denham Springs, sought to place a $500,000 cap on general civil damages, excluding property damage, lost wages, tangible losses, and medical bills. The cap also would not have applied in cases of severe, permanent injury.
The bill aimed to lower auto insurance rates by reducing what Dickerson called "nuclear verdicts" that can produce multimillion-dollar damage awards. If insurers were no longer exposed to those awards, she argued, reduced costs would translate to lower premiums for policyholders.
"In Louisiana, the same case can produce very different results, depending on where it is tried," Dickerson said. "That unpredictability drives up settlements, increases litigation costs, and forces insurers to price for worst-case scenarios. And, folks, guess what? Those costs fall on families, small businesses, on everyday policyholders."
The bill was rejected by the House Committee on Civil Law and Procedures, the latest development in the years-long debate over how to lower insurance rates in Louisiana, where car insurance costs rank among the highest in the country.
The bill had backing from Louisiana trucking company owners, some of whom told the committee their insurance rates have increased steadily in recent years, with some reporting hikes of as much as 80%.
"You're looking at a perfect storm right now with fuel prices," said Toni McAllister, executive director of the Louisiana Loggers Association. "We look at 2008, when fuel prices were insane. We're there now, but our insurance costs in 2008 weren't what they are now."
A provision in the bill drew concern from sexual assault advocates. While the proposal allowed damages from intentional or malicious acts to bypass the cap if the plaintiff produced clear and convincing evidence, advocates argued that the standard would effectively shift the burden of proof onto victims.
Dickerson clarified in her closing statement that the bill was not intended to target sexual assault victims, but advocates remained unconvinced.
"The ability to get to that clear and convincing point is a reason why I think they pursue civil matters," said Morgan Lamandre, CEO of Sexual Trauma Awareness & Response.
Skepticism from committee members ultimately led to the bill's defeat. Rep. Nicholas Muscarello Jr., R-Hammond, the committee chair, was among those unconvinced by the case for caps.
"Only 18% of the states in the United States have caps, and I cannot find one piece of research — and nobody can provide any research or any supporting evidence — to show that caps actually lower insurance," Muscarello said in an interview with the LSU Manship School News Service.
Muscarello noted that following a package of insurance reform legislation that passed in 2025, the state has seen a significant decrease in auto insurance costs and roughly 30 to 35 new insurers entering the Louisiana market, without any cap on damage awards.
