A proposal to shield Mardi Gras float-builders from some liability claims for accidents on the parade route was scuttled by a Louisiana Senate committee after opponents argued the state shouldn’t give such protections to private companies.
Rep. Jeff Arnold, D-New Orleans, said his bill was designed to stop frivolous lawsuits, extending the liability exemption already granted to Mardi Gras krewes, which are nonprofit organizations.
“We’ve provided the other exemptions, and we have put a target on the back of the manufacturer because they don’t have the same protection,” Arnold told the Senate Judiciary A Committee, which voted 2-1 against advancing the bill to the full Senate for debate.
The House had passed the bill earlier this session in a 73-21 vote.
Opponents said the measure was a response to a wrongful death lawsuit against Blaine Kern Studios, and they said protections shouldn’t be given to for-profit businesses against future attempts for float riders or watchers to sue when parade festivities hurt or kill someone.
“Please don’t give Blaine Kern special treatment,” said Jonathan Compretta. “Hold him to the same standard everyone else is held to.”
Compretta’s brother Jody was crushed in February 2008, when a Krewe of Endymion float lurched forward, throwing him under it just as he was trying to disembark and attend the end-of-parade party. Compretta’s family blamed Blaine Kern Studios, the company that built the float and hired the driver. Jody’s wife filed a lawsuit.
Arnold acknowledged he sponsored the bill for Blaine Kern Studios, the business of well-known float builder and Mardi Gras enthusiast Blaine Kern that is located in Arnold’s district. The Kern family has been in the New Orleans float design and sculpting business for decades, making some of the most ornate and memorable floats for the city’s best-known parades.
But Arnold said the proposal wasn’t retroactive and wouldn’t affect pending litigation.
Arnold’s bill would require proof of gross negligence or a deliberate act before the companies that build Mardi Gras floats could be held liable for damage, injuries or death during parades. The liability limitation would cover manufacturers or leasers of a trailer or float used in a parade, or of a vehicle used to tow those floats. It wouldn’t extend to any claim linked to the failure in design, manufacture or maintenance of a float.
“If they’re at fault, they do not get the higher protection,” Arnold said.
Compretta, a lawyer and lobbyist in Jackson, Miss., said the change in legal standard would make it far tougher to hold people accountable for injuries and deaths on parade routes. He said the threat of a lawsuit provides an incentive for companies to take basic safety precautions to protect riders on floats.
Voting to defer the bill were Sens. Dan Claitor, R-Baton Rouge, and Ed Murray, D-New Orleans. Voting to advance the bill was Sen. Bob Kostelka, R-Monroe. The chair of the committee, Sen. Julie Quinn, R-Metairie, did not vote.
House Bill 902 can be found at www.legis.state.la.us
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