Legislative Auditor Concerned about Decision on Lawsuit Venue

The Legislative Auditor Tuesday said he was disappointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court’s recent refusal to hear the LLA’s request for judicial review of a lower court ruling involving the proper venue for a dispute over access to records.

The DeSoto Parish sheriff sued the LLA after auditors subpoenaed some personnel records as part of an investigation into complaints about the department’s Local Agency Compensated Enforcement (LACE) details. LLA’s attorneys argued that the proper venue for the lawsuit was the 19th Judicial District (East Baton Rouge Parish), where “the administrative decisions of the State and State agencies are made.”

However, the district court judge disagreed, saying the lawsuit should be heard in DeSoto Parish. The Second Circuit Court of Appeal and the state Supreme Court Friday refused to hear the LLA’s request for a review.

Louisiana law requires legal disputes involving the Legislature, the state’s retirement systems, and other state agencies to be heard in Baton Rouge. Purpera said, “The legislators decided it was better to use one district for such matters because courts in the capital are more familiar with state government and its workings.”

“While I respect the Louisiana Supreme Court’s decision not to exercise supervisory review,” Purpera said, “the questions it raises as to my office’s authority to have audit-related legal disputes heard in Baton Rouge cause me great concern.”