Louisiana Eyes New Business Court to Settle Disputes

Louisiana lawmakers will consider a proposed constitutional amendment to create new specialized courts in the state during the third special session of the year.

Senate Bill 1, authored by State Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, proposes creating new courts focused on business-related cases. Morris said in a Nov. 7 committee meeting that Louisiana is an outlier compared to the multiple states in the country that have some type of these courts already.

“I feel like we need to have the ability and the option of making sure that complex cases in the business world can have a higher degree of expertise in the judiciary to handle complex issues efficiently and quickly which is a big draw for us to attract more and more businesses to our state,” said Morris.

The proposed constitutional amendment would need a two-thirds vote from state House and Senate lawmakers. If approved by lawmakers, voters would decide on the proposal in a statewide election on Nov. 15, 2025.

SB 1 is scheduled for a third reading and final passage in the Senate on Nov. 14