Background
Entergy Louisiana, LLC sought new servitudes to replace historical transmission-line servitudes serving South Louisiana. As part of its “REMAP 99 Project,” Entergy offered affected landowners compensation and sent notices intended to comply with Louisiana Revised Statutes 19:2.2.
Two groups of Jefferson Davis Parish landowners did not accept Entergy’s offers. After Entergy filed separate expropriation actions covering seventeen tracts, the landowners raised exceptions of prematurity, arguing that Entergy’s notices identified the Louisiana Public Service Commission as its regulator but omitted the agency’s website and telephone number. The district court sustained the prematurity exceptions and dismissed the suits without prejudice.
The Court’s Holding
The Third Circuit affirmed. Louisiana Revised Statutes 19:2 requires an expropriating authority, before filing suit, to comply with all requirements of Section 19:2.2. Section 19:2.2(B)(6), in turn, requires notice identifying the regulating agency by name, website, and telephone number. Because Entergy omitted two of those items, it had not completed the mandatory prerequisites necessary for its expropriation claims to become ripe.
The court rejected Entergy’s argument that dismissal improperly imposed a penalty not stated in the expropriation statute. Dismissal was instead the procedural consequence required by Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 933 when an action is premature. Strict construction of expropriation laws against the expropriating authority reinforced the conclusion that the omission could not be disregarded as merely technical.
The court also held that the landowners were not required to prove prejudice. It distinguished Bayou Bridge Pipeline, LLC v. 38.00 Acres because the disputed notice provisions there were not yet effective when the initial offer was made. Here, every notice requirement applied, and the required information was actually missing.
Key Takeaways
- An expropriating authority must satisfy every applicable pre-suit notice requirement in Louisiana Revised Statutes 19:2.2 before its claim becomes ripe.
- Omitting the regulating agency’s website and telephone number makes an otherwise identifying notice insufficient.
- A landowner need not demonstrate prejudice from missing mandatory notice information to obtain dismissal on prematurity grounds.
Why It Matters
The decision requires strict compliance with Louisiana’s statutory safeguards before utilities and other authorized entities may invoke the extraordinary power of expropriation. Information that may appear readily available elsewhere cannot simply be omitted from the prescribed notice.
The ruling also clarifies that dismissal for prematurity is not a substantive penalty and does not defeat the underlying expropriation claim. It reflects that the authority filed before completing the statutory steps necessary to make the action judicially enforceable.