In a case filed in the 19th Judicial District Court of Louisiana, Mary Smith, individually and on behalf of concerned members of the Louisiana Association of the Deaf (LAD), has sued Jimmy Gore and Jason Isch. The lawsuit, under case ID C690808, was filed on March 20, 2024.
The dispute revolves around an internal conflict within LAD. In June 2019, Gore and Isch were elected President and Secretary respectively. However, a petition to remove Gore from his position due to alleged incompetence, negligence, and power-hungry behavior was submitted to Secretary Isch on August 7, 2019. The petition also demanded a special meeting for this purpose.
Despite receiving the petition, Secretary Isch stated that it did not comply with LAD's bylaws or Louisiana state laws. He argued that only the President or Board could initiate an officer's removal process and set a special meeting date. Furthermore, he claimed that the reasons for Gore's removal were not clearly specified.
Smith is seeking enforcement of the vote results taken at a special meeting aimed at removing Gore from his position as President of LAD. Her counsel includes Jacob Longman, Kathryn Jakuback Burke, F. Richard Sprinkle, and Jennifer Cameron while Marcus J. Plaisance and Mark D. Plaisance represent the defendants.