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February 2021

Plaintiff’s Uninsured Motorist Action Barred by Louisiana Statute of Limitations

Attorneys Ed Taylor and Katie Van Camp represented an uninsured motorist carrier, defending a complaint filed by a Plaintiff seeking uninsured motorist coverage for personal injuries arising out of a New Orleans automobile accident, and for a claim asserting bad faith claims handling. The suit was filed in the Circuit Court of Harrison County, more than two years after the accident. 

A motion for summary judgment was filed on behalf of the carrier based on the assertion that the suit was barred by Louisiana’s two year statute of limitations. The carrier asserted that the Plaintiff was not a Mississippi resident who could take advantage of Mississippi’s three year statute of limitations. Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-65. (“Mississippi’s borrowing statute.”) Plaintiff responded  that, at times, he lived in a house in Gulfport and that the subject insurance policy was issued in Mississippi. However, it was undisputed that the Plaintiff had a house in New Orleans and filed for homestead exemption at that residence, filed Louisiana tax returns, worked in Louisiana, his child went to school in Louisiana, voted in Louisiana, and owned nine rental properties in Louisiana. Based on the aforementioned, the Circuit Court granted the motion for summary judgment finding that the Plaintiff was a Louisiana resident and his claim was barred by Louisiana’s two year statute of limitations for a UM claim in Louisiana.