Louisiana Direct Action Statute

Louisiana Revised Statute 22:1269 (formerly La.R.S. 22:655), provides for a direct action against a liability insurer in two instances:

• Where the policy or contract of liability insurance was issued (domestic insurer) or delivered (foreign insurer) in Louisiana; or
• Where the accident or injury occurred in Louisiana.

The Louisiana Direct Action Statute does not create an independent cause of action against the insurer. It merely grants a procedural right of action against the insurer where the plaintiff has a substantive cause of action against the insured. The Louisiana Direct Action Statute affords a victim the right to sue the insurer directly when the liability policy covers a certain risk. The statute does not extend the protection of the liability policy to risks that were not covered by the policy or were excluded thereby (at least in the absence of some mandatory coverage provisions in other statutes)

The injured person or his or her survivors or heirs, at their option, may bring the action against the insured or against the insured and the liability insurer. The action may be brought against the insurer alone only when:

1. The insurer has been adjudged a bankrupt by a court of competent jurisdiction or when proceedings to adjudge an insured a bankrupt have been commenced before a court of competent jurisdiction;
2. The insured is insolvent;
3. Service of citation or other process can not be made on the insured;
4. When the cause of action is for damages as a result of an offense or quasi-offense between children and their parents or between married persons;
5. When the insurer is an uninsured motorist carrier; or
6. The insured is deceased.

The Direct Action Statute was enacted to give special rights to tort victims. In the absence of the Direct Action Statute, a plaintiff would have no right of action against an alleged tortfeasor’s liability insurer because the obligation between the plaintiff and the alleged tortfeasor is delictual in nature, and the plaintiff has no contractual relationship with the tortfeasor’s insurer.
Soileau v. Smith True Value & Rental, 2012-1711 (La.6/28/13), 2013 WL 3305265.

The Direct Action Statute does not create an independent cause of action against the insurer. It merely grants a procedural right of action against the insurer where the plaintiff has a substantive cause of action against the insured. The Direct Action Statute affords a victim the right to sue the insurer directly when the liability policy covers a certain risk. The statute does not extend the protection of the liability policy to risks that were not covered by the policy or were excluded thereby (at least in the absence of some mandatory coverage provisions in other statutes). Soileau, supra.