House Bill 607 appropriates $566,356 from the State General Fund for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 to satisfy a final judgment in a civil lawsuit brought by two former university employees against the Board of Supervisors of the University of Louisiana System. The judgment, originally signed April 25, 2023, was amended by the trial court on May 1, 2023, and further amended by the Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit on August 5, 2024. The bill allocates $150,336 of the total amount to Dr. Peter Yaukey and $416,020 to Dr. Mahtab A. Lodhi, with each amount covering lost earnings, lost fringe benefits, and judicial interest accrued from the date of judicial demand through the effective date of the appropriation bill. The legislation establishes payment procedures requiring presentation of documentation to the state treasurer and provides that judicial interest shall cease running as of the bill's effective date.
The two plaintiffs, former university employees, will receive payment of their respective award amounts as determined by the final amended judgment. The Board of Supervisors of the University of Louisiana System, which was named as defendant in the underlying lawsuit, is relieved of direct payment obligations as the state assumes the judgment liability through this appropriation. The State Treasurer's office will administer distribution of funds according to the documentation requirements specified in the bill.
The judgment emerges from Louisiana's civil litigation framework governed by the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure and substantive employment law principles. The Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit exercises appellate jurisdiction over civil cases arising from the Civil District Court in Orleans Parish. The bill operates within the state budgetary process established by the Louisiana Constitution, utilizing appropriation authority to satisfy judgment obligations that the state treasury has assumed. Section 4 establishes that if any conflict arises between the judgment terms and the bill's provisions, the judgment controls, ensuring that the underlying judicial award is fully honored. The appropriation takes effect upon gubernatorial signature or by lapse of time without veto under Article III, Section 18 of the Louisiana Constitution.
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