Lawsuit against East Side Water System heard by Judge Ortego

Nearly six-months after its first appearance before Judge Gary Ortego, Randel Brown’s suit against East Side Water System, Inc.’s board made its way back into the Evangeline Parish judge’s courtroom. The issues being addressed concerned failure on the defendant’s part to provide documents that the court had previously requested.
Brown, who is being represented by attorney Jonathan Vidrine, decided to bring a suit against the private corporation after the water company’s board of seven voted to increased the voter turnout required to validate an election. Originally, the bylaws required a 10 percent voter turnout; but after the board’s vote, it was increased to 50 pct. on March 11, 2015.
At the conclusion of the suit’s courtroom appearance back in August of 2015, Judge Ortego ordered that Vidrine and his client amend their current suit and file using proper procedures. Those procedures involved submitting a petition that showed that at least five pct. of the total shareholders agreed with Brown.
The judge also ordered the defendant and its council, attorney Jacob Fusilier, to acquire the minutes from all East Side Water System board meetings held in 2013, 2014, and 2015, and have these documents turned in within 15-days of the August hearing.
When yesterday rolled around, both parties were once again standing before Judge Ortego for a motion hearing after Vidrine filed two motions on behalf of his client.
In the motion filed on December 10, 2015, the plaintiff and his council requested a restraining order against all East Side Water System board members.
Then, on January 28, 2016, another motion was filed by Vidrine and his client requesting an “expedited hearing” to address the fact that Fusilier and the board had failed to turn in all of the documents that the judge had requested.
While Fusilier and his client managed to provide the court with almost all of the requested documents, they failed to supply the court with minutes from the board meeting where the voter turnout requirement was changed.
According to Fusilier, this was an honest mistake. “We were turning documents in to the court in batches, because it is a lot; and we had forgotten some,” said Fusilier. “People think that this board is a public body. For example, like the school board is, but it is not. The information for school board meetings is public, but when dealing with a private corporation, shareholders can not just request personal information and expect to receive it. We have to follow the corporate laws of Louisiana.”
Before informing the court of the decision he had reached concerning the two motions, Judge Ortego said, “We will hear this suit, because that is what is fair; and I am not happy that the board took it upon themselves to advertise and hold an election before this matter had been handled.”
The judge then warned that there would be consequences for those who do not comply with the court’s orders. Judge Ortego said, “If shareholders or board members do not follow the court’s order, I’ll find an orange jumpsuit for that person. I do not care if the jail is full, I will make sure that we find room downstairs for anyone who does not want to comply with court orders.”
Concerning the motion for a restraining order, Judge Ortego ruled that this request would be held in “abeyance,” or temporarily suspended, for now.
The judge then extended the defendant’s deadline to turn over a copy of all of the minutes from every board meeting held in 2013-2015. Fusilier and the board now have until March 1, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. to provide all documents requested by the court, to the court. Being very specific, Judge Ortego ordered that Fusilier acquire these documents from the Louisiana Secretary of State, instead of just documents from East Side Water System’s office.
Following the hearing held on Feb. 24, Fusilier stated, “East Side Water passes the internal audit every year. There is 100 percent no evidence of wrong doing on the part of the board.”