Insurance
Home›Insurance›Liability Insurance›Louisiana appeals court dismisses Sentry from crash la…
Louisiana appeals court dismisses Sentry from crash lawsuit
The court said Louisiana's amended direct-action statute applies retroactively because the plaintiffs filed the insurer suit after an August 1, 2024 effective date.
A Louisiana appeals court removed Sentry Select Insurance Company from a crash lawsuit, ruling that the state's amended direct-action law allowing suits against insurers applies retroactively based on when the petition was filed, according to Insurance Business.
The decision, affirmed on July 15, 2026 by the Court of Appeal, Second Circuit, stems from a May 12, 2024 traffic collision in Caddo Parish. The injured parties filed their petition for damages on September 17, 2024, naming 11 defendants including Sentry, the insurer for a driver and trucking company also sued in the case.
The plaintiffs used Louisiana's Direct Action Statute, La. R.S. 22:1269, to sue the insurer directly. That statute was amended effective August 1, 2024, and the amended version limited direct suits against insurers except in specified situations the court found did not apply here.
Sentry argued that the direct-action right is procedural rather than substantive, so the amendment should apply to suits filed after the effective date. The appeals court agreed, finding that, because the plaintiffs did not file until after August 1, 2024 and the record did not show they exercised any pre-amendment procedural right, Sentry was dismissed without prejudice and struck from the case caption.