The first of what will likely be many hearings over the St. George incorporation is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday in 19th Judicial District Court Judge William Morvant’s courtroom.
At issue is whether three of the four plaintiffs who sued St. George organizers Norman Browning and Chris Rials in the wake of last fall’s successful incorporation election have legal standing to file suit.
Mayor Sharon Weston Broome, Metro Council member Lamont Cole, Baton Rouge resident M.E. Cormier and prospective St. George resident Lewis Unglesby are the plaintiffs in the suit, which challenges the organizers’ ability to deliver municipal services in the new city as promised.
St. George attorney Sheri Morris did not file an answer to that suit. Instead, she filed a procedural motion, arguing that Broome, Cole and Cormier do not have legal standing to sue—Broome because she is not the “governing authority” of Baton Rouge; Cole, because, though he is a member of the “governing authority” of Baton Rouge, did not join the suit on behalf of the Metro Council but as an individual; and Cormier, because she would not be adversely affected by the incorporation as a resident of Baton Rouge.
Morris is not challenging Unglesby’s standing as a plaintiff.
In court documents responding to the St. George motion, attorney Mary Olive Pierson argues that Broome, Cole and Cormier do have legal standing to sue.
With respect to Broome, in particular, court documents say, “As mayor president of the city (which will be adversely affected by the incorporation of St. George) and the parish (including the unincorporated areas, which will be adversely affected by the incorporation), Broome unquestionably, has a real and actual interest in bringing this claim. Indeed, looking out for the interest of the city-parish is her job.”
The hearing is not expected to last more than a couple of hours, though it’s hard to say with certainty. Also unknown is whether the judge will rule from the bench or take the matter under advisement and rule at a later date.
In a separate court matter, St. George organizers are challenging the recent annexation into the city of Baton Rouge of several office buildings that would be located within the prospective St. George footprint. That matter is before 19th Judicial District Court Judge Chip Moore.
No hearing date has been set.
