DeLissia Sterling v. Board of Supervisors of Louisiana Community and Technical Colleges System and LCTCS Facilities Corporation
DeLissia Sterling v. Board of Supervisors of Louisiana Community and Technical Colleges System and LCTCS Facilities Corporation, No. 2021CW0876 (La. Ct. App. 1st Cir. Oct. 22, 2021).
Authorities cited
Identified automatically; this list may not be exhaustive.
- Herlitz Const. Co., Inc. v. Hotel Investors of New Iberia, Inc. 396 So. 2d 878
- Maldonado v. Kiewit Louisiana Co. 152 So. 3d 909
- EOLA Properties, L.L.C. v. Bayou Jack Logging, L.L.C. 157 So. 3d 1129
Opinion text
STATE OF LOUISIANA
COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST CIRCUIT
DELISSIA STERLING NO. 2021 CW 0876
VERSUS
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF
LOUISIANA COMMUNITY AND
TECHNICAL COLLEGES SYSTEM OCTOBER 22, 2021
AND LCTCS FACILITIES
CORPORATION
In Re: State of Louisiana, through the Board of Supervisors
of Louisiana Community and Technical Colleges,
applying for supervisory writs, 19th Judicial District
Court, Parish of East Baton Rouge, No. 692859.
BEFORE: McCLENDON, PENZATO, AND HESTER, JJ.
WRIT DENIED. The criteria set forth in Herlitz
Construction Company, Inc. v. Hotel Investors of New Iberia,
Inc., 396 So. 2d 878 ( La. 1981) ( per curiam), are not met.
PMc
AHP
Hester, J., dissents and would grant the writ with order.
I would reverse the portion of the trial court' s May 18, 2021
judgment, which denied the Motion to Compel Return of
Inadvertently Disclosed Privileged Documents filed by defendant,
the State of Louisiana through the Board of Supervisors of
Louisiana Community and Technical Colleges System (" the
State"). Under the circumstances presented herein, the ORM
Accident Reporting Form and attached witness statements were
obtained or prepared in anticipation of litigation or trial, and
plaintiff, DeLissia Sterling, has not demonstrated she will be
unfairly prejudiced, subject to undue hardship, or subject to
injustice by denial of the discovery. See La. Code Civ. P. art.
1424( A); Maldonado v. Kiewit Louisiana Co., 2012- 1868 ( La. App.
1st Cir. 5/ 30/ 14), 152 So. 3d 909, 926, writ denied, 2014- 2246
La. 1/ 16/ 15), 157 So. 3d 1129. Moreover, the ORM Accident
Reporting Form and attached witness statements were
inadvertently disclosed, and the State took reasonably prompt
measures, once it knew of the disclosure, to notify plaintiff of
the inadvertence of the disclosure and the privilege asserted.
See La. Code Civ. P. art. 1424( D). Thus, I find plaintiff has
not shown the State waived its privilege. Id. Accordingly, I
would grant the State' s Motion to Compel Return of Inadvertently
Disclosed Privileged Documents and order the plaintiff to return
the ORM Accident Reporting Form and attached witness statements
as well as any copies to the State.
COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST CIRCUIT
A-sg rj
DEPUTY CLERK OF COURT
FOR THE COURT