§ 37:786 — Judicial review of adjudication

Louisiana § 37:786

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 37: Professions and Occupations

Text

§786. Judicial review of adjudication
A.(1) Where the board, whether through a disciplinary committee or the entire board,
renders a decision in an administrative adjudication, the party aggrieved by it may resort to
the Nineteenth Judicial District in the parish of East Baton Rouge for judicial review. Any
such appeals shall be filed in the court in the same manner as original suits are instituted
therein. A preliminary, procedural, or intermediate agency action or ruling is immediately
reviewable if review of the final agency decision would not provide an adequate remedy and
would inflict irreparable injury.
(2) Petitions for judicial review of interlocutory administrative decisions shall be
filed within fifteen days of the ruling at issue.
(3) A petition for judicial review of a final decision of the disciplinary committee
shall be filed within thirty days of the mailing of the final decision by the agency or, if a
rehearing is requested, within thirty days after the mailing of the notice of the decision
thereon. A copy of the petition for judicial review shall be served upon the agency and all
parties of record.
B. Neither the board nor any person acting on behalf of the board shall be entitled
to judicial review of any decision rendered by board or any disciplinary committee thereof.
C. All proceedings in the Nineteenth Judicial District in the parish of East Baton
Rouge and appellate courts arising under this Section are civil in nature and shall be heard
summarily by the court without a jury, shall take precedence over other civil cases, and shall
be tried in chambers or in open court, in and out of term.
D.(1) In any case appealed to the civil district court under the provisions of this
Section, the party seeking judicial review shall furnish security in the amount of any fine set
forth in the decision being appealed.
(2) Any security furnished under the provisions of this Section shall be in favor of
the clerk of the trial court in which the proceeding was brought, and shall be furnished as
security for the judicial review of the complaining party in civil district court. The security
furnished shall meet the requirements for bonds in judicial proceedings set forth in Code of
Civil Procedure Article 5121 et seq., and shall become available to satisfy any portion of the
judgment once the judgment becomes final and has not been satisfied within thirty days of
becoming final.
(3) The security required under the provisions of this Section shall be annexed, by
the complaining party or appellant, to the petition for judicial review filed in the civil district
court. If the complaining party seeking judicial review fails to annex satisfactory security
to the petition for judicial review, within the time specified for the filing of said appeal, the
trial court, on its own motion or upon motion by the board, and after a hearing held within
five days of service of the motion, shall:
(a) Enter a formal order of dismissal on the grounds of abandonment; or
(b) Grant a three-day period within which said security shall be filed in the record,
in default of which the petition for judicial review shall be dismissed as abandoned.
(4) Service of the motion described in Paragraph (3) of this Subsection may be
effected by the methods provided in Code of Civil Procedure Article 1313.
E. Notwithstanding appellant's compliance with the requirements of this Section, the
district court shall issue no stay for that portion of the board's decision which does not
involve a sum of money unless the appellant satisfies the requirements of R.S. 37:786.1.
F. The provisions of this Section shall apply to any unlicensed person who has been
sanctioned by the board for any violation of R.S. 37:788.
G. If before the date set for hearing application is made to the court for leave to
present additional evidence, and it is shown to the satisfaction of the court that the additional
evidence is material and that there were good reasons for failure to present it in the
proceeding before the board, the court may order that the additional evidence be taken before
the board upon conditions determined by the court. The board may modify its findings and
decisions by reason of the additional evidence and shall file that evidence and any
modifications, new findings, or decisions with the reviewing court.
H. The review shall be conducted by the court without a jury and shall be confined
to the record. In cases of alleged irregularities in procedure before the agency, not shown in
the record, proof thereon may be taken in the court. The court, upon request, shall hear oral
argument and receive written briefs.
I. The court may affirm the decision of the board or remand the case for further
proceedings. The court may reverse or modify the decision if substantial rights of the party
seeking judicial review have been prejudiced because the administrative tribunal's findings,
inferences, conclusions, or decisions are:
(1) In violation of constitutional or statutory provisions;
(2) In excess of the statutory authority of the agency;
(3) Made upon unlawful procedure;
(4) Affected by other error of law;
(5) Arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly
unwarranted exercise of discretion; or
(6) Not supported and sustainable by clear and convincing evidence as determined
by the reviewing court. In the application of this rule, the court shall make its own
evaluation of the record reviewed in its entirety upon judicial review. In the application of
the rule, where the agency has the opportunity to judge the credibility of witnesses by first-hand observation of demeanor on the witness stand that the reviewing court does not, due
regard shall be given to the agency's determination of credibility issues.

Legislative History

Acts 1986, No. 914, §1; Acts 1988, No. 405, §1, eff. July 10, 1988; Acts 1995, No. 920, §1; Acts 1999, No. 1358, §1; Acts 2003, No. 1181, §1; Acts 2012, No. 491, §1, eff. June 5, 2012; Acts 2014, No. 866, §§1, 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2017; Acts 2016, No. 369, §1; Acts 2016, No. 491, §1.