Delahoussaye v. BOARD OF SUP'RS OF COLLEGES

906 So. 2d 646, 2005 WL 675579
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 24, 2005
Docket2004 CA 0515
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 906 So. 2d 646 (Delahoussaye v. BOARD OF SUP'RS OF COLLEGES) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Delahoussaye v. BOARD OF SUP'RS OF COLLEGES, 906 So. 2d 646, 2005 WL 675579 (La. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

906 So.2d 646 (2005)

Ted DELAHOUSSAYE
v.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGES.

No. 2004 CA 0515.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

March 24, 2005.

*647 J. Isaac Funderburk, Nancy Dunning, Abbeville, Counsel for Plaintiff/Appellee/2nd Appellant Ted Delahoussaye.

Charles C. Foti, Attorney General, Katherine M. Whitney, Assistant Attorney General, Counsel for Defendant/1st Appellant Board of Supervisors of Community and Technical Colleges.

Before: GUIDRY, GAIDRY, and McCLENDON, JJ.

GAIDRY, J.

The defendant-appellant, the Board of Supervisors of Community and Technical Colleges (the Board), appeals a summary judgment declaring unconstitutional a provision of its removal policy applicable to its tenured employees formerly employed by *648 the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE). The plaintiff-appellant, Ted Delahoussaye, separately appeals that portion of the judgment declaring that he is not entitled to conduct discovery pursuant to the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure in administrative proceedings prior to a hearing on his removal. We reverse the judgment in part, amend, and affirm it in part.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Ted Delahoussaye, the plaintiff, is a tenured employee of the Board, and assigned as an instructor at the Louisiana Technical College-Lafayette Campus.[1] Based upon formal written complaints from four students received between December 11 and 14, 2001, he was informed by letter on December 17, 2001 that he was placed on "administrative leave" without pay effective December 18, 2001, pending investigation of "allegations of sexual harassment."[2] On December 19, 2001, the Board held a post-suspension hearing, during which Mr. Delahoussaye was informed of the nature of the complaints made and the reasons for the action taken, and afforded an opportunity to respond in his own defense.

After further investigation of the complaints, another meeting was held on May 17, 2002, at which time Mr. Delahoussaye was advised that a charge for his removal from employment was being instituted. Chancellor William J. Roden formally advised Mr. Delahoussaye by letter of the same date of the intended proceeding, based upon "willful neglect of [his] duties as an instructor." In the letter, Chancellor Roden acknowledged the findings of the Human Resources office that the alleged conduct did not appear to constitute illegal racial or sexual discrimination or harassment. Nevertheless, it was concluded that the conduct, consisting of offensive statements made during the course of classroom instruction, violated the "standards of conduct required of instructional personnel" and created a detrimental learning environment. Finally, Chancellor Roden advised Mr. Delahoussaye that he would remain on administrative leave without pay pending the resolution of the charge for removal.

Mr. Delahoussaye was subsequently advised by letter dated September 2, 2002, that the scheduled date for the removal hearing was October 17, 2002. Through counsel, he propounded interrogatories and a request for production of documents to the Board, and requested the issuance of subpoenas prepared for the depositions of the four complaining students.

By letter dated September 30, 2002, the Board's counsel advised Mr. Delahoussaye's counsel of its position that the proceeding was not subject to the Louisiana Administrative Procedures Act or the discovery provisions of the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, and that the Board would not respond to the discovery interrogatories or the request for production of documents.

Due to the effects of Hurricane Lili on Lafayette and Vermilion Parishes, the parties agreed to continue the scheduled removal hearing without date. On November 14, 2002, Mr. Delahoussaye instituted the present declaratory judgment and mandamus action, seeking a judicial declaration of the unconstitutionality of *649 the Board's imposition of leave without pay under its policy, as well as a writ of mandamus restoring his salary and benefits retroactive to the date of suspension. Additionally, he sought declaratory judgment recognizing his right to engage in discovery under the provisions of the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure prior to the hearing on his removal.

By motion filed on August 12, 2003, Mr. Delahoussaye moved for summary judgment in his favor. The motion was heard on October 20, 2003. The trial court rendered judgment granting the motion in part on the issue of the constitutionality of the Board's action, but denying it on the discovery issue. Its original judgment in that regard was signed on November 7, 2003, but an amended judgment to the same substantive effect was signed on December 23, 2003, for the purpose of compliance with La. R.S. 13:5112(A). From that judgment, both the Board and Mr. Delahoussaye have appealed.

STANDARDS OF REVIEW

The judgment before us is a summary judgment rendered in an action for declaratory judgment. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 1871 provides that a declaratory judgment "shall have the force and effect of a final judgment or decree." Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 1877 further provides that declaratory judgments "may be reviewed as other orders, judgments, and decrees." Accordingly, the character of this action as one seeking declaratory judgment does not affect the standard of review of the summary judgment. Motorola, Inc. v. Associated Indemnity Corporation, 02-0716, pp. 4-5 (La.App. 1st Cir.4/30/03), 867 So.2d 715, 717.

A reviewing court should afford considerable weight to an administrative agency's construction and interpretation of its rules and regulations adopted under a statutory scheme that the agency is entrusted to administer, and its construction and interpretation should control unless they are found to be arbitrary, capricious, or manifestly contrary to its rules and regulations. In The Matter of Recovery I, Inc., 93-0441 (La.App. 1st Cir.4/8/94), 635 So.2d 690, 696, writ denied, 94-1232 (La.7/1/94), 639 So.2d 1169.

Appellate review of a summary judgment is a de novo review based upon the evidence presented in the trial court, using the same criteria used by the trial court in deciding whether summary judgment is appropriate. Simmons v. Berry, 98-0660, p. 4 (La.App. 1st Cir.12/22/00), 779 So.2d 910, 913-14.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

The Board appeals, contending that the trial court committed legal error in relying upon Louisiana jurisprudence relating to tenured employees governed by Title 17 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, as the Board is a constitutionally-created higher education board not subject to such provisions, and in finding that the Board's action in suspending Mr. Delahoussaye without pay deprived him of due process.

In his appeal, Mr. Delahoussaye assigns as error the trial court's ruling that he was not entitled to conduct pre-removal discovery under the provisions of the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure.

DISCUSSION

The Board is a constitutionally-created higher education board charged with the management of public vocational-technical colleges and community colleges. La. Const. Art. 8, § 7.1. As such, it is conferred with self-executing (i.e., enforceable without supplemental legislation), exclusive administrative authority *650 over the learning institutions within its jurisdiction. See Board of Elementary and Secondary Education v. Nix, 347 So.2d 147, 152 (La.1977).

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906 So. 2d 646, 2005 WL 675579, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/delahoussaye-v-board-of-suprs-of-colleges-lactapp-2005.