NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a rehearing and partially vacated a lower court’s ruling against the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College and administrators at LSU Health Sciences Center-New Orleans.
The ruling centered on allegations of improper handling of a medical student’s residency application due to a disputed finding of scientific misconduct, according to the Nov. 4 court document in the Louisiana Court of Appeal Fourth Circuit.
The case originated from a lawsuit filed in 2022 by Dr. Hunter Hidalgo, who alleged that LSUHSC-NO improperly handled misconduct accusations related to his PhD dissertation, ultimately impacting his medical residency prospects.
In February 2024, a jury ruled in Hidalgo’s favor, compelling LSUHSC-NO to reinstate him, expunge the misconduct record, and prevent any related adverse actions.
However, a subsequent residency application notation referencing the disputed misconduct led Hidalgo to file an Emergency Contempt Motion in September 2024, claiming noncompliance by LSUHSC-NO.
The trial court found LSUHSC-NO and its attorneys in contempt for failing to remove all references to the misconduct. However, the defendants argued that the contempt judgment was issued without sufficient notice and in violation of procedural requirements.
On Oct. 9, they filed for a rehearing, asserting due process violations.
The appeals court agreed with the defendants, emphasizing that the trial court failed to follow Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 225’s requirement of 48-hour notice for constructive contempt charges.
The appellate judges noted that the contempt ruling was issued prematurely, without proper notice or a hearing, thus invalidating the finding.
While acknowledging that a suspended contempt finding is still a conviction, the court highlighted that procedural missteps undermined the legitimacy of the trial court’s ruling.
Consequently, the appeals court vacated the portions of the trial court’s Sept. 24 judgment related to contempt and related sanctions, including attorney’s fees and costs awarded to Hidalgo.
"The record reflects that the trial court held the September 23, 2024, hearing on Dr. Hidalgo’s Emergency Contempt Motion less than twenty-four hours after Dr. Hidalgo filed the motion and, according to Relators, approximately three hours after their counsel received oral notice of the time of the hearing," the court document stated. "Also according to Relators, no evidence was presented at the hearing before the trial court held Relators and their counsel in contempt. Though, as we previously explained, the trial court ultimately held a hearing on the contempt issue on September 26, 2024, we find that hearing to be of no effect."
The judges noted that by the time the trial court conducted that hearing on Sept. 26, the trial court had already held Relators and their counsel in contempt via the Sept. 24 judgment, albeit with the finding suspended, without providing them with the requisite 48 hours’ notice.
Liz Murrill, Phyllis E. Glazer, Darren A. Patin and Dennis Phayer represented the relators.
Ellie T. Schilling and Benjamin O. Flaxenburg of Schonekas, Evans, McGoey & Eachin represented the respondents.
Attorneys did not respond to requests to comment on the case.
Louisiana Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit case number: 2024-C-0609