The St. Landry Parish Council has agreed to hire a Lafayette attorney who will represent parish officials who have been named as defendants in a pair of unrelated civil lawsuits filed separately during the past two months.
Council members made the decision to employ Paul Gibson at a $400 hourly base rate following a specially-convened, closed session meeting held Monday night.
Gibson is scheduled to defend parish president Jessie Bellard in a lawsuit filed in July by former parish animal control director Terri Courvelle.
Bellard said during a Thursday interview that Gibson will also probably represent the Council in a lawsuit filed Monday by Quincy Richard, Sr.
Courvelle Lawsuit
Courvelle, who was fired as animal control director on Nov. 29 by Bellard, is asking for unspecified compensation while working as the animal control director.
The lawsuit also alleges that Courvelle was fired after an alleged animal control incident which occurred in the Sunset area Nov. 22 involving the rescue of two dogs from an unoccupied residence on Curley’s Road.
Courvelle states in the lawsuit that two investigative officers and an animal control worker were present when the dogs were taken from the residence allegedly without obtaining a search warrant, which she maintains would have been necessary in order to search the house legally.
The lawsuit indicates that the investigators allegedly secured a warrant from State District Judge Ledricka Thierry after the dogs had been taken.
Courvelle additionally alleges in the lawsuit that she was terminated after Bellard told her she had broken the law in connection with the incident involving the seizures of the dogs.
During the Thursday interview Bellard said Courvelle was fired because “she was a liability to the parish and was not following the law.”
Quincy Richard, Sr.
Bellard said he could not comment on the lawsuit by Richard because he has not seen the document which has already been filed into State District Court records.
According to the lawsuit, Richard alleges the Council possibly violated the state open meetings law June 21 when Richard was denied a chance to speak to council about a vacancy on the Council-appointed Hospital Service District No. 2 Board before council members voted to hold a closed session discussion.
The closed session approved by the Council had not placed on the original published agenda prior to the meeting, according to the lawsuit.
Richard states in the lawsuit that he was one of two individuals that at the time had applied for a remaining vacancy on the hospital board.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of Richard also maintains the state open meetings law provides an opportunity for persons who attend public meetings to discuss agenda items that require a vote.
At a July meeting the Council voted to appoint former State District Judge James Doherty, Jr. to fill the final vacancy on the hospital district board. Doherty received seven votes. Four council members voted for Richard.
Pictured: Quincy Richard, Sr.
