Champagne v. Ward

Summary

The court held that Louisiana's uninsured/underinsured motorist statute does not automatically govern a foreign-issued insurance policy merely because an accident occurred in Louisiana and involved a Louisiana resident. Courts must first conduct a conflict-of-laws analysis under Louisiana's Civil Code, and the court concluded that Mississippi law governed this Mississippi-issued policy because Mississippi's interests in regulating its insurance contracts and preserving the parties' contractual expectations outweighed Louisiana's interests. The court therefore held that the insurer was entitled to summary judgment.