La.’s Donelon Drops Lawsuit Against Former Opponent, State Senator

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon dropped the defamation lawsuit he filed against his opponent in the Sept. 30 election, state Sen. James David Cain, and said he wishes he had not filed the lawsuit.

A hearing for the matter was set for Oct. 16, but Donelon filed a notice telling state District Judge Janice Clark he wasn’t going to pursue the lawsuit filed after a Cain television ad accused Donelon of trading insurance licenses for campaign contributions.

“I am still not happy with the allegation and vehemently deny any selling of licenses,” Donelon said. “I’m not that stupid nor that corrupt.”

Donelon’s lawyer, Mike McKay, said the newly elected commissioner wants to focus on other matters, and he said Donelon’s legal arguments that his reputation was damaged were undercut by winning the election outright last month.

Cain’s attorney, Michael Singletary of Opelousas, said he had been prepared to go to court and present the 200 pages of information the campaign collected to document all the claims raised in the television ad.

“We felt very comfortable that we had the facts and the law on our side,” Singletary said. “All of the allegations are supported by documented evidence.”

Information from: The Advocate, www.2theadvocate.com.