Area has by far most insurance court cases in nation
Published 9:38 am Wednesday, June 28, 2023
U.S. District Judge James D. Cain Jr. of the Western District of Louisiana at Lake Charles handled more insurance cases than any other judge in the nation during the past three years, according to a study done by Lex Machina.
Lex Machina is a California-based legal tech company that provides legal analytics to law firms and companies. Cain’s record was reported in the Louisiana Record, a legal journal covering the state’s legal system.
Cain handled 6,877 cases. The next most active judge was U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty of Monroe, also of the Western District, who handled 625 insurance cases during the same time.
The study covered 2020-2022 when the Western District of Louisiana handled the most insurance cases of any federal district court in the nation. The 8,169 cases handled by the district were more than twice the number of cases filed in the next most active jurisdiction, the Eastern District of Louisiana, where 3,798 cases were filed over that time period.
The Louisiana Record said the 2023 Insurance Litigation Report identified the Houston law firm of McClenny, Moseley and Associates (MMA) as the most active law firm in the U.S. based on its representation of plaintiffs in insurance litigation from 2020 to 2022.
The Lex Machina study showed the law firm filed 2,766 cases during that time period. However, it faced a series of reprimands for its handling of insurance cases, including fines imposed by the state Department of Insurance, class-action lawsuits, and stays on the majority of its cases that were ordered by the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Nationwide, federal courts handled 18,912 insurance cases in 2022, a 30% increase over the number of such cases filed the previous year, according to the report.
Lex Machina said hurricanes, business interruptions, and homeowner policies contributed to the increase in litigation. The study said destructive events such as Hurricane Laura in 2020 and Hurricane Ida in 2021 contributed to the rise in cases.
The report says the most active defendant in the nation during 2020-22 was State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., which was involved in 4,317 insurance cases.
Judge Cain was appointed to the court by former President Donald Trump and it was approved 77-21 by the U.S. Senate. He received his commission on June 25, 2019.