RECORRECTED COPY DANILO AUGUSTO * NO. 2025-CA-0335 FELICIANO * COURT OF APPEAL VERSUS * FOURTH CIRCUIT SUSAN HUTSON, IN HER OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS * STATE OF LOUISIANA ORLEANS PARISH SHERIFF AND NANCY RUTH LANDRY, * IN HER OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS LOUISIANA SECRETARY * OF STATE *******

JCL LOBRANO, J., DISSENTS AND ASSIGNS REASONS I respectfully dissent from the majority’s decision to reverse the district court’s dismissal of this election contest.

In Sens v. Plaisance, 365 So.3d 17 (La. App. 4 Cir. 2020), and Plaquemines Parish Council v. Petrovich, 662 So.2d 542 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1995), we reaffirmed that election statutes are to be construed strictly and the procedure expedited.

While the majority draws analogical support from Brooks v. Tradesmen Intern., Inc., 03-1871 (La. App. 4 Cir. 9/1/04), 883 So.2d 444, that case is procedurally and legally distinguishable. Brooks involved the discretionary application of La. C.C.P. art. 1672(A) in a general civil context and not an election contest governed by a rigid statutory scheme. The court in Brooks was not constrained by La. R.S.

18:1409, which expressly bars rehearing or reconsideration under subsection (I).

To adopt such reasoning would risk undermining the finality and uniformity that the election code seeks to preserve.

Nevertheless, I must also acknowledge a concern that implicates the risk of both procedural fairness and access to justice. The record in this case does not reveal a willful failure to appear, nor a disregard for process. Instead, it reflects documented procedural confusion, stemming from a pro se litigant’s efforts or the difficulties posed by navigating an accelerated and complex legal process without

counsel. The absence of a statutory mechanism for rehearing under La. R.S.

18:1409(I) leaves little room for correction once judgment is entered. As such, despite the equitable concerns, I must conclude that the law compels us to affirm the district court’s dismissal.

I therefore dissent from the majority’s reversal of the district court’s ruling and would affirm the dismissal of the election contest.