Background
Entergy Louisiana, LLC sought new servitudes to replace historical transmission-line servitudes used to provide electric service in South Louisiana. After some landowners rejected its compensation offers, Entergy filed two expropriation actions covering seventeen tracts in Jefferson Davis Parish.
Before filing suit, Entergy sent the landowners notices identifying the Louisiana Public Service Commission as its regulator. The notices did not, however, provide the commission’s website or telephone number as required by La.R.S. 19:2.2(B)(6). The landowners filed exceptions of prematurity, and the district court sustained the exceptions and dismissed both actions without prejudice.
The Court’s Holding
The Third Circuit affirmed, holding that compliance with all requirements of La.R.S. 19:2.2 is a mandatory prerequisite to filing an expropriation action. Because Entergy omitted the regulator’s website and telephone number, its right to pursue expropriation had not accrued and the actions were premature.
The court rejected Entergy’s argument that dismissal amounted to an unauthorized statutory penalty. Dismissal instead followed from Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 933, which requires dismissal when an exception of prematurity is sustained. Given the extraordinary nature of expropriation and the rule that expropriation laws must be strictly construed against the expropriating authority, the omission could not be disregarded as merely technical.
The court also held that the landowners did not have 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, whereas every requirement of La.R.S. 19:2.2(B) applied to Entergy’s notices.
Key Takeaways
- An expropriating authority must satisfy every applicable pre-suit notice requirement in La.R.S. 19:2.2 before filing suit.
- Omitting the regulating agency’s website and telephone number renders an expropriation action premature.
- A landowner need not show prejudice from missing information when the statute expressly requires that information.
Why It Matters
The decision requires strict adherence to Louisiana’s statutory safeguards before a utility may invoke the power of expropriation. Information that may be readily available elsewhere cannot substitute for information the statute requires the expropriating authority to include in its notice.
The dismissal was without prejudice, so it did not defeat Entergy’s underlying expropriation claims. It required Entergy to complete the mandatory preliminary steps before seeking judicial relief.