A $20 million defamation lawsuit was filed earlier this year against a Baton Rouge law firm that represented LSU for decades. Now if the plaintiff wins a motion to oppose the stay of the case requested by the defendants, current US Federal Judge Darrel Papillion is likely to be deposed.
Lawyer Larry English, representing Sharon Lewis in Lewis vs. LSU Board of Supervisors, opposed the motion to stay the defamation case on Monday in the US Middle District Court of Louisiana.
English filed the defamation lawsuit against Robert Barton, Vicki Crochet, and Taylor Porter Brooks and Phillips LLP earlier this year, alleging they damaged his reputation by falsely accusing him of violating Louisiana statute La. R.S. 14:123(A).
The dispute revolves around whether or not Barton, Crochet, and Taylor Porter acted maliciously and are now using legal tactics to avoid testifying in court, including filing a motion to stay discovery.
English argues that these actions have not only harmed his professional standing and credibility as a lawyer, but also infringed upon his rights. In response to the motion to stay, English argues that the defendants have not provided sufficient evidence and presents legal arguments supporting his position. He emphasizes the importance of allowing the discovery process to continue, as a stay could result in potential prejudice. Ultimately, English asserts that there is no harm in allowing the case to proceed.
Judge Papillion’s involvement has raised concerns, as he signed off on Article 863 sanctions ordered by former Louisiana Middle District Judge Tim E. Kelley in December 2022, just before Kelley retired, when he was Taylor Porter’s attorney before assuming his lifetime appointment as a United States Federal Judge in the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Kelley’s sanctions against English and his client Sharon Lewis, totaling over $330,000, were based on his ruling that Lewis’ lawsuit against LSU was fraudulent and frivolous. The TP Defendants are now using these sanctions as grounds for their Motion to Stay the $20 million defamation lawsuit against Taylor Porter, Crochet, and Barton filed by English earlier this year, according to English’s opposition to the motion to stay filed on Monday.
English argues that Papillion’s testimony in related proceedings could provide crucial information for the case, potentially revealing bias in Kelley’s sanctions and ruling. Papillion, who was nominated by President Joe Biden in 2020 and confirmed to a lifetime appointment on the US District Court in New Orleans in May 2023, served as Kelley’s attorney in a personal injury lawsuit that awarded Kelley over $422,000 in damages plus additional attorney fees in 2014.
Kelley, who served as a District Judge in East Baton Rouge Parish for over 26 years, was the longest-serving judge in Louisiana’s 19th Judicial District Court at the time of his retirement in December 2022. In his ruling, Kelley stated that Lewis and English made false criminal allegations against three Taylor Porter attorneys, failed to properly investigate conspiracy claims against them, and made “sensational and unsupported public statements to the media.” Kelley also cited “abusive litigation tactics” and unfounded accusations of racist and sexist conduct as the basis for his ruling.
The underlying controversy dates back to 2013 when LSU hired the Taylor Porter law firm to investigate sexual harassment claims made by a student against former head football coach Les Miles. Lewis’ lawsuit alleges that the firm buried a formal report detailing Miles’ behavior and worked with school officials as part of a “scheme” to keep his alleged harassment under wraps.
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