William Alan Pesnell And Douglas Wade Pesnell v. Ronnie Williams, Jr., And Stacy Mcqueary

Supreme Court of Louisiana
October 01, 2025
Chief Deputy Clerk of Court
For the Court
The Supreme Court of the State of Louisiana
WILLIAM ALAN PESNELL AND
DOUGLAS WADE PESNELL
VS.
RONNIE WILLIAMS, JR., AND STACY
MCQUEARY
No. 2025-C-00513
_ _
_ _ _ _
IN
RE: William Alan Pesnell, et al. - Applicant Plaintiff; William Alan Pesnell -
Applicant Plaintiff; Douglas Wade Pesnell - Applicant Plaintiff; Applying For Writ
Of Certiorari, Parish of Natchitoches, 10th Judicial District Court Number(s) C -
94689, Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, Number(s) 24-328;
_ _ _ _ _ _
October 01, 2025
Writ application granted in part. See per curiam.
Weimer, C.J., concurs in part and dissents in part and assigns reasons.
PDG
JDH
WJC
JBM
JMG
CRC
10/01/2025 "See News Release 043 for any Concurrences and/or Dissents."

SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA
No. 2025-C-00513
WILLIAM ALAN PESNELL AND DOUGLAS WADE PESNELL
VS.
RONNIE WILLIAMS, JR., AND STACY MCQUEARY
On Writ of Certiorari to the Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, Parish of Natchitoches
PER CURIAM
Writ granted in part. Prevailing parties in public records suits shall be awarded
attorneys’ fees. La. R.S. 44:35(D)(1). This language is not limited to litigation in the
trial court.1 Prevailing parties include those who are provided with documents after
filing suit but before final judgment. Aswell v. Division of Administration, 15-1851,
p. 7 (La. App 1 Cir. 6/3/16), 196 So. 3d 90, 94.
La. R.S. 44:35(F) limits fees payable in public records suits to the maximum
the Attorney General pays for outside counsel. Thus, while there is no statutory
minimum, a fee award this far below the applicable statutory limit is indicative of
an abuse of discretion. For attorneys with ten or more years of experience, the
Attorney General pays up to $350.00 per hour. The defense does not dispute that
Ronald E. Corkern Jr. has practiced law for 50 years and worked 28.3 hours on the
appeal below. The court of appeal only awarded Mr. Corkern $70.00 an hour. Under
these facts and considering this record, we find the amount awarded to Mr. Corkern
is abusively low and increase it to a reasonable rate of $250.00 an hour for a total of
$7,075.00. In all other respects the writ is denied.
REVERSED IN PART
1 Applicant does not request an award of fees for litigation in this Court. Therefore, none are
awarded.