Morgan v. Blair’s Bail Bonds, Inc., et al.

New Orleanians who overpaid for bail bond services sued bail bond companies for illegally overcharging tens of thousands of low-income New Orleans families, who were forced to turn to these companies to secure freedom for their loved ones. Although a Louisiana law specified that bail bond companies could only charge twelve percent of the bond amount, they routinely charged thirteen percent—an illegal one percent premium—over a fourteen-year period. After learning of these overcharges, the Commissioner of Insurance issued a directive ordering the companies to repay the families they overcharged. But rather than complying with the Commissioner’s directive, the companies lobbied their friends in the legislature to grant them a retroactive immunity for their unlawful conduct, which the legislature did.

We wrote an amicus brief urging the Louisiana Supreme Court to grant review of the district court’s stay of the case. First, we argued that the legislature’s retroactive blessing of this siphoning of resources from New Orleans’ most vulnerable citizens is antithetical to good governance and rule of law. Next, we highlighted the high stakes of having to pay that extra one percent for those impacted.

The brief reflects an early example of our new focus on state supreme courts as a forum to vindicate the rights of incarcerated people.

UPDATE

After the state court dismissed the case on procedural grounds, and the appellate court upheld the dismissal, MacArthur Justice Center’s New Orleans office represented Innocence & Justice Louisiana (formerly Innocence Project NOLA) with an additional amicus brief filed in a case before the Louisiana Supreme Court in July 2025. In October 2025, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled in the plaintiff’s favor, sending the case back to the district court for proceedings.