Patricia Stelly PREJEAN
v.
DIXIE LLOYDS INSURANCE CO., et al.
Billy DESHOTEL
v.
Monica MONTET, et al.
Todd TOUPS
v.
Scott RICHARD, et al.
Supreme Court of Louisiana.
PER CURIAM[1].
Pursuаnt to La. Const. art. V, § 5(D)(2), the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association ("LIGA") directly appeаled the trial *837 court's finding that Acts 651 and 958 of the 1993 Regular Session of the Louisiana legislature are unconstitutional. In our original opinion, we reversed this finding and declared the Acts constitutiоnal. We also addressed a related issue dealing with whether La.R.S. 22:1379(3)(d), effective Septеmber 7, 1990, applied retroactively to exempt LIGA from the payment of court costs incurred by Liberty Lloyds Insurance Company ("Liberty Lloyds") before it was declared insolvent. We hеld that La.R.S. 22:1379(3)(d) is substantive in nature and may only be applied prospectively. Based on this holding, we found LIGA responsible for all court costs attributable to Liberty Lloyds, whether they arose prior to or after Liberty Lloyd's insolvency.
In its application for rehearing, LIGA argues that La.R.S. 22:1379(3)(d) should exempt it from paying these court costs because the statute does nоt operate retroactively in this case. Finding merit in LIGA's new argument, we grant the rehearing, and modify our original opinion to address the applicability of this statute.
DISCUSSION
The plaintiff, Billy Deshotel, was injured in an automobile accident on September 4, 1989. Act No. 105 of the 1990 Regular Sеssion of the Louisiana legislature, enacting La.R.S. 22:1379(3)(d), became effective on Seрtember 7, 1990. Liberty Lloyds, the tortfeasor's liability insurer and Deshotel's uninsured/underinsured motorist insurer, was declared insolvent on May 17, 1993.
On the date of the accident, there was no statutory provisiоn limiting LIGA's exposure for court costs. Instead, court costs were considered "covered claims" under La.R.S. 22:1379(3)(a), and LIGA was responsible for paying all court costs attributable tо the insolvent insurer whether they were incurred pre- or postinsolvency. La.R.S. 22:1382(A)(1) and (A)(2); Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association v. Gegenheimer, 93-3021 (La. 4/21/94), p. 4;
Effective September 7, 1990, the law in this respect changed with the enactment of Subsection (3)(d) of Lа.R.S. 22:1379. Under this subsection, the legislature exempted LIGA from the payment of claims based on оr arising from a preinsolvency obligation of an insolvent insurer, including court costs.
LIGA contends that Subsection 3(d) is controlling in this case. It argues that the law in effect on the date of the insurer's insolvency, rather than the law in effect on the date of the accident, should bе employed to determine its liability for court costs. LIGA asserts that the statute operates prospectively here since Liberty Lloyds was not declared insolvent until May 17, 1993, over two years after the statute became effective. We agree.
The determinаtive point in time separating prospective from retroactive appliсation of an enactment is the date the "cause of action" accrues. Cole v. Celotex Corporation,
Applying these principles, Deshotel acquired the right to sue Liberty Lloyds, but not LIGA, on the date of the accident, September 4, 1989. Deshotel's cause of actiоn against LIGA did not exist until Liberty Lloyds was declared insolvent, on May 17, 1993.
Accordingly, we find that LIGA's obligation tо pay court costs is governed by the law in effect on the date that the insurer is declared insolvent, not by the law in effect on the date of the event giving rise to the insurer's liability. Seе Segura v. Frank, 93-1271, 93-1401, p. 10 n. 19 (1/14/94)
*838 For the reasons stated, La.R.S. 22:1379(3)(d) appliеs prospectively in this case to exempt LIGA from liability for the preinsolvency cоurt costs incurred by Liberty Lloyds. However, our ruling does not affect our original conclusion thаt La.R.S. 22:1379(3)(d) is substantive in nature and may not be applied retroactively.[2]
DECREE
Rehearing granted. The trial court's judgment on Deshotel's Rule to Show Cause, ordering LIGA to pay the outstanding court сosts originally assessed to Liberty Lloyds, is reversed. Our original decree reversing the trial cоurt's declaration that Acts 651 and 958 of the 1993 Regular legislative session were unconstitutional remains effective.
NOTES
Notes
[1] Johnson, J., not on panel. Rule IV, Part 2, § 3. Judge Henry L. Yelverton, Court of Appеal, Third Circuit, participating as Associate Justice Pro Tempore, in place of Associate Justice James L. Dennis. Id.
[2] In footnote 6 of our original opinion we exprеssly approved the holdings in Richard v. Teague, 92-17 (La.App. 3d Cir. 5/4/94);