Fired LSP Trooper Cavalier retains new counsel who files motion to reopen cause, rescind oral settlement, and accuses former attorney Jill Craft of “coercion.”

Former LSP Trooper Carl Cavalier.

When we published this feature on Billy Broussard v. Mendy “Mob Boss” Girouard, we indicated on the video that, after Thanksgiving, we’d be cranking things back up with regard to Louisiana State Police (LSP).  Well, it’s after Thanksgiving, so it’s time to crank things up!

Also, when we published this feature on Ronald Greene’s mother chastising LSP Col. Lamar Davis, we assumed (incorrectly, as it turns out) that most video viewers would know exactly what Ms. Mona Hardin (Greene’s mother) was talking about when she indicated she “hates like hell” the “back-door deals” being done in her son’s case.

Our assumption was wrong because some of the most dedicated subscribers to our blog indicated to us that they did not know what she was referencing.  Hence, let’s spell it out in no uncertain terms!  The most prominent “back-door deal” Ms. Hardin was referencing was  this $200,000 settlement offer made to fired LSP Trooper Carl Cavalier which was clearly made in an effort to shut him up about what all transpired in Greene’s death and the ensuing massive coverup of same and make him just go away off into the sunset.

Let’s take just a moment to isolate Ms. Hardin voicing her frustration over these “back-door deals.”:


Mona Hardin, Ronald Greene’s mother, states how much she “hates” the “back-door deals” being cut regarding her son’s death.  By far the most prominent of those “back-door deals” was the $200,000 (of which, after attorneys fees and costs, the offer would likely approximate $110,000 or so) offered to LSP Trooper Carl Cavalier with the stipulation that he just go away and shut his mouth about what all transpired in her son’s death at the hands of LSP.

Of course, as we have reported, Cavalier has indicated to us that he had zero interest in merely accepting the money (which Ms. Hardin has previously said would be nothing short of “blood money”) if it meant he did not get his job back.

He made that crystal clear to us from the outset of our discussions with him a long time ago.

Obviously, as everyone is aware, we’ve extensively provided video coverage of both he and former attorney Craft’s efforts to obtain his job back through meetings at the Louisiana State Police Commission (LSPC) to accomplish that very goal.  For Craft to just throw in the towel and try to “coerce” Cavalier into just “taking the money and run” (which would, of course, result in a huge payday for her as well) causes us to openly question why she engaged in such extensive efforts in front of the LSPC in the first place!

Being blunt, if her true belief was that the LSPC would “never” agree to grant Cavalier his job back, then why go through all those extensive efforts and tie up the massive amount of LSPC members’ time if she thought any such potential was dead on arrival given that Col. Davis would actively and forcefully testify against Cavalier’s reinstatement (which he most certainly would)?

Whatever the case on Craft’s extensive efforts before the LSPC, on November 3, 2022, Judge John W. deGravelles signed an order permitting attorneys James C. Carver and Clifton Ivey to enroll as Cavalier’s Counsel of Record.  Earlier today (Wednesday, November 30, 2022), those two attorneys filed this motion to reopen the cause and rescind the proposed settlement.

We’re not bragging (well, maybe just a little), but when we published this feature on October 22, 2022, we predicted that the settlement would ultimately not be enforceable due to there being an absence of a “meeting of the minds.”  [The business law classes they require CPAs to take and the fact that the CPA exam is 25% business law questions come in handy from time to time].  From the feature just linked:

Here is our take on the matter.  If Cavalier reached a settlement under the mistaken belief that settling the Federal litigation had no impact upon his ability to obtain his job back (i.e. agree never to work for LSP again), and we don’t know whether that’s the case or not and are not about to ask Cavalier if that is the case, then, in our minds, there never was a required “meeting of the minds” at the Settlement Conference for which the $200,000 can literally be crammed down his throat and him be told, “That’s it for you ever working for LSP again.”

As part of the Cathy Derbonne (former LSPC Executive Director) settlement, she had to execute a document which specified that she would never seek employment with the LSPC again.  If Cavalier reached agreement on the $200,000 settlement but didn’t understand that it also meant he could not continue to pursue employment with LSP, then our own opinion, for what that’s worth, is that he is on sound ground for the settlement to be rejected based on a lack of full and complete “meeting of the minds.”

Now let’s take a look at some highpoints of Carver and Ivey’s Motion:

The instant matter was dismissed, without prejudice, subject to a sixty (60) day reopen period if the Settlement was not consummated. The alleged Settlement was oral and was never consummated nor reduced to writing. Further, the Oral Settlement was never offered in open court.  There is no transcript of any agreement to a settlement.

In addition, Plaintiff’s objections to the terms of the proposed Oral Settlement were never included in the settlement discussions. Plaintiff’s attorney, at the time of the purported Oral Settlement discussions, refused to follow her client’s demands to ask for reinstatement to his job with the Louisiana State Police as part of any settlement. Counsel for Plaintiff coerced Plaintiff into apparently agreeing to the Oral Settlement. Since there was no actual meeting of the minds, the purported agreement to settle was forced onto Plaintiff under duress.

Wow!  One doesn’t get more damning words entailing Cavalier’s former attorney, Jill Craft, no?  Furthermore, the scenario described is even far worse than what we’d assessed.  Judging by the wording of the above Motion, it appears Cavalier did understand the settlement and its terms but that Craft, “refused to follow her client’s demands to ask for reinstatement to his job.”  Follow that up with, “Counsel (Craft) coerced Plaintiff (Cavalier) into apparently agreeing to the Oral Settlement…..was forced onto Plaintiff under duress,” and all we can say is that we’ve sat through tons of court hearings and we have read tons and tons of court pleadings, and we have to rank this court pleading as being among the top three we’ve ever read in our many years in terms of alleged attorney misconduct.

From our standpoint, the entire veil of secrecy of the attempted settlement smacks of the same type secrecy which led to the massive coverup of Ronald Greene’s death in the first place.  Being blunt, it’s despicable!  We are beyond elated that Cavalier has chosen two attorneys who are so willing to expose just what all allegedly transpired (particularly on the part of former Counsel Jill Craft if their allegations are true) because it smacks of, as Hardin states on the brief video above, pure-rank “politics” entailing the death of a man that never should have transpired on or around May 9, 2019!

We’re sure this will be covered by local media in short order, and we’d love to see if Craft is willing to make a statement on camera to those media outlets!

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Broussard touts collaboration with SMPG Councilwoman JeanBatiste to include himself, Dubrocs donating land to ease traffic congestion from spike expected upon impending opening of industrial park.

St. Martin Parish Councilwoman Carla JeanBatiste, who served as Chairperson for the St. Martin Parish Council’s Public Works Committee Meeting on November 15, 2022.

Within the video of our most recent feature on Broussard v. Mendy “Mob Boss” Girouard, Billy Broussard indicates that he feels that St. Martin Parish District 2 Councilwoman Carla JeanBattiste likely had not read the vicious Facebook posts associated with him or his property notwithstanding the fact that JeanBatiste has been a member of Girouard’s Facebook group since approximately February of 2022.  Broussard indicated there’s “no way” she would have read the posts and stood by and said nothing and, worse, permitted her good name to be tarnished by direct association with those posts.

Broussard also indicated that JeanBatiste is a, “good person, from good people who are doing the very best they can.”  Broussard even touted JeanBatiste’s Chairmanship of the November 15, 2022 St. Martin Parish Public Works Committee Meeting.

One of most-extensively discussed topics from the above agenda was:

“Report on major road projects in Road District 2:  Duchamp Road, Petroleum Parkway, and Spanish Trail Access Road.”

Although the meeting was very sparsely attended, Broussard indicated that he was pleased to address the Committee entailing the Duchamp Road projects to assist with facilitating the spike in traffic on Duchamp expected to transpire upon the opening a new industrial park within minutes of Duchamp Road.  In fact, Broussard touted his collaboration with JeanBatiste who, in turn, thanked him for their meeting and his input.

Broussard even volunteered that, given that he has about 600 feet of Duchamp Road frontage as does his two immediate neighbors going to LA Hwy 182, he could donate land, along with Blake Dubroc and Joelle Dubroc (whom he indicated, combined, also have about 600 feet of Duchamp Road frontage) and that would enable the Parish to build a right-hand lane on Duchamp to facilitate motorists desiring to turn right on to LA Hwy 182.  That right-hand turn lane, in turn, would significantly reduce the backlog of cars which amass in late afternoon seeking to make such a right-hand turn now.

There was one resident, David Pugh, who expressed concern that the exit from the new industrial park for the 400-500 workers expected to be employed at the park will be forced to turn right (there will be no provision for left-hand turns onto LA Hwy 182), and that, in turn, will prompt those motorists to then turn right on Duchamp as a shortcut to get to the major highway they’re seeking to traverse.

We were there for the public works meeting, so let’s now provide a six-minute highlight of the Duchamp Road matter:

11/15/22 SMPG Public Works Committee meeting entailing discussions of Duchamp Road / Industrial Park.

We also believe that the material on that video clears up some confusion regarding the apparent belief that certain residents had that there would be a new railroad crossing SOUTH of Duchamp Road which would facilitate the Laotians being able to get to their property without having to access the servitude road which the Dubrocs had to accommodate due to Louisiana’s laws forbidding land-locking any property owner from his property.  Everyone may recall the treatment we’ve documented of these Laotians by the Dubrocs, but here it is again:

Video file of a threatening action allegedly sent by a relative of Dubroc to one of the Laotian neighbors soon after they legally drove down a servitude to go to property they own.

There was yet another text allegedly sent soon thereafter.  On it, a very young man is heard bragging about having, “chased after them with a hammer.”  Let’s take a look at the video from that text, shall we?:


Another video file sent to the Laotian neighbors wherein one young man brags of having, “chased after them with a hammer in my hand.”

Because of alleged promises we were told were made regarding that railroad crossing SOUTH of Duchamp, we made a public records request on September 12, 2022 of SMPG for any evidence of any negotiations with railroad officials entailing just such a new crossing SOUTH of Duchamp.  The response we got may be accessed by clicking here; however, we also deem it worthy of reproduction below:

REQUEST DATED SEPTEMBER 12, 2022

There are no documents responsive to your request dated September 12, 2022. For clarification, there have been discussions concerning a crossing from La. 182 to the Spanish Trail Industrial Park. That site is “north” of the Duchamp Road crossing.

That does indeed clear the air!  There obviously never has been any discussions for a crossing SOUTH of Duchamp, but obviously there have been discussions for re-installing the previously-existing one NORTH of Duchamp, and that is the roadway for entering and exiting the impending opening of the industrial park.  We consider the air now officially cleared!

While the impending opening of the new industrial park may create a few added traffic headaches for folk on Duchamp Road, we believe that both SMPG Councilwoman Carla JeanBatiste  and Parish President Chester Cedars should justifiably stick their chests out about this incredible accomplishment and the 400-500 new jobs for parish residents.

Clearly, Mr. Broussard, who obviously located and bought the right property at the right time (for which the value has already risen from an appraised value of $78,200 when he purchased the property to a recent appraisal of $163,600 according to his Opposition Memorandum to Girouard’s Peremptory Exception scheduled to be heard on December 9, 2022), as depicted in the initial video above, is elated at the upcoming development.  He contends the development will only enhance his property’s value (and that of all of his neighbors).

Broussard has indicated that the industrial park and collaborative efforts with SMPG District 2 Councilwoman Carla JeanBatiste prove that everything goes much smoother when everyone works as a team for the betterment of all involved, which is why he is so absolutely convinced that JeanBatiste would never agree to associate herself with the type of vile posts made on Mendy “Mob Boss” Girouard’s Facebook group!

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Attorney Haik rebuffs Facebook posts discovery request, prompting Billy Broussard to file Motion to Compel; includes “Mob Boss” Girouard’s postings falsely claiming a “criminal case” is pending against him, her calling him a “slithering snake,” and “a thief in the night.”

 

 

Billy Broussard, standing outside of the St. Martin Parish Clerk of Court’s Office on Monday, November 21, 2022, moments after filing a Motion to Compel Facebook posts from Mendy “Mob Boss” Girouard’s Facebook group “Vieux Jacquet Neighborhood.” Prominent New Iberia Defense attorney Eric Timothy Haik, who represents Girouard,  rebuffed Broussard’s discovery request for the posts saying they are, “irrelevant and not likely to lead to any admissible evidence in regards to Plaintiff’s claims of defamation.”

We want to begin this feature with a quick table outlining recent filings/developments in the Billy Broussard v. Mendy “Mob Boss” Girouard (and Melissa Dubroc) defamation suit:

Date of Recent filing or EventFiling or Event
September 20, 2022.Broussard files this defamation lawsuit.
October 28, 2022.Broussard propounds discovery request upon Defendant Girouard for Facebook posts on him or his property on Duchamp Road (see Exhibit A at this link).
October 28, 2022.Defense Attorney Eric Timothy Haik files this Peremptory Exception / Answer. The contradictory hearing for the Exception is set for December 5, 2022.
November 15, 2022.Broussard files this opposition memorandum to Haik's Exception.
November 16, 2022.Defense Attorney Haik sends Broussard certified letter indicating Facebook posts will not be provided (see Exhibit B at this link).
November 18, 2022.Broussard and Haik exchange emails with Haik saying to accept last email as stand for 10.1 status conference (see Exhibit C at this link).
November 21, 2022.Broussard files this Motion to Compel Discovery entailing the Facebook posts

We have already reported upon all of filings except Broussard’s Motion to Compel filed earlier today (Monday, November 21, 2022).  Broussard agreed to appear on camera immediately after filing the Motion, so let’s take a look:

Broussard’s appearance on Sound Off Louisiana soon after filing his Motion to Compel on Monday, November 21, 2022.

Here are the screen shots of the Facebook posts referenced in the video above and supplied in Broussard’s Memorandum in Support of his Motion to Compel:

Facebook post of January 14, 2022 published by Defendant Mendy Girouard to her Facebook group (in response to Ms. Ida Broussard) not only demonstrating absolutely profound ignorance in stating that Plaintiff is violating a TRO (Defendant Girouard  made the same verbal claim on January 6, 2022 at the St. Martin Parish Planning and Zoning meeting) which dissolved by operation of law on or around September 22, 2021 but further falsely states that that Plaintiff is, “just doing what he wants.”

Facebook post of January 14, 2022 published by Defendant Mendy Girouard to her Facebook group (in response to Ms. Ida Marie) falsely indicating that there is a, “criminal case against him (Plaintiff),” and that, “We are waiting for the date.”

Facebook post of January 14, 2022 published by Defendant Mendy Girouard to her Facebook group (in response to Ms. Kathy Howard) falsely indicating that Plaintiff is subject to a “criminal case” and how she, “can’t wait for the criminal case to show up on a docket.”

Facebook post of February 28, 2022 (two days before the St. Martin Parish Council Meeting) published by Defendant Mendy Girouard to her Facebook group blatantly defaming Plaintiff in referencing him as among “snakes” which “slither” and among “liers” (sic) who “lie,” and further bragging upon her self-proclaimed status as “Mob Boss” by openly promoting her hashtag “#mobbosscomingatya.”

Facebook post of February 28, 2022 (two days before the St. Martin Parish Council Meeting and in response to Ms. Debbie C. White) published by Defendant Mendy Girouard to her Facebook group blatantly defaming Plaintiff in referencing him as a, “thief in the night.”

Once a date for the Motion to Compel is scheduled, we commit to attend and report on the outcome.

This will be the last post before Thanksgiving, so we hope everyone has an enjoyable and Happy Thanksgiving!

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