Opinion ID: 743519
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: southern university and its board of supervisors are entitled to eleventh amendment immunity

Text: 20 We first note a certain tension in the application of the Delahoussaye factors to cases involving Louisiana state universities. For purposes of analyzing Southern's claim to Eleventh Amendment immunity, Southern as an entity in and of itself cannot be meaningfully distinguished from Southern's Board of Supervisors, for the Board is the operative arm of the University. Therefore, in Laxey and Delahoussaye, we analyzed the functions of the governing board of the University of Southwestern Louisiana in our determination of whether the University was entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity. Laxey, 22 F.3d at 623; Delahoussaye, 937 F.2d at 147-48. 21 This case, however, is not as straightforward as Laxey and Delahoussaye because (1) Richardson sued Southern University, yet the district court characterized the suit as one against Southern's Board of Supervisors, and (2) the Board of Supervisors filed the motion to dismiss this appeal. Because our analysis of Eleventh Amendment immunity is grounded in state law and because (as our analysis below demonstrates) Southern and its Board of Supervisors are viewed as one and the same under Louisiana law, we conclude that Southern University and the Board of Supervisors stand on the same sovereign immunity footing. 22 Now to the merits of Southern's Eleventh Amendment immunity claim. Although we have held that the University of Southwestern Louisiana is an arm of the State of Louisiana and therefore enjoys Eleventh Amendment immunity, Delahoussaye, 937 F.2d at 146-48, and that [t]he majority of decisions concerning the eleventh amendment status of state universities have concluded the institutions were arms of the state, United Carolina Bank v. Board of Regents, 665 F.2d 553, 557 (5th Cir. Unit A 1982), we nonetheless point out that each situation must be addressed individually because the states have adopted different schemes both intra and interstate, in constituting their institutions of higher learning, United Carolina Bank, 665 F.2d at 557. Consistent with the conclusion reached by one of our district courts, 11 we conclude that Southern and its Board of Supervisors are entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity. 23
24 Southern University is a creature of state law and is run by a Board of Supervisors established in the 1974 Louisiana Constitution. LA. CONST. art. 8, § 7 (creating the Board of Supervisors of Southern University as a bod[y] corporate); La.R.S. 17:3216 (West 1982) (stating that Southern University system is under the supervision and management of the Board of Supervisors); Moss v. Hall, 133 La. 351, 63 So. 45 (La.1913) (describing the birth of Southern under Louisiana law); see generally Mullins v. Louisiana, 387 So.2d 1151, 1152 (La.1980) (If the office is created by the legislature, or is established in the first instance by the constitution, it is a state office.). However, as we said in Delahoussaye, the fact that Southern was created under state law does not make Southern an arm of the State of Louisiana. 937 F.2d at 147 & n. 5 (comparing Tulane University, which was created by state law, yet does not enjoy Eleventh Amendment immunity because Tulane is a private institution). More is required. We have reviewed the relevant statutes and cases and conclude that under state law, Southern is an arm of the State of Louisiana. At least three characteristics of Southern's legal make-up compel this conclusion. 25 First, the Louisiana Department of Education administers the functions of Southern's Board. La. R.S. 36:642B (West 1985); Muhammed, 715 F.Supp. at 734. Second, the Louisiana Board of Regents (consisting of fifteen persons appointed by the governor with consent of the Louisiana senate) oversee Southern's Board to the extent that the Regents plan, coordinate, and have budgetary responsibility for all public higher education.... LA. CONST. art. 8, § 5(A) (West 1996). 12 Third, although Louisiana courts have held that Southern's Board is a separate and distinct legal entity from the State of Louisiana, Varnado v. Southern Univ. at New Orleans, 621 So.2d 176, 178 (La.Ct.App. 4th Cir.1993) (interpreting La. R.S. 17:1851A (West 1982)), Southern nonetheless is considered an agency of the State. See Varnado, 621 So.2d at 178; Tiensuu v. Board of Supervisors of Southern Univ. & A & M College, 385 So.2d 322, 324 (La.Ct.App. 1st Cir.), writ refused, 386 So.2d 356 (La.1980); see also Parker v. Breaux, 335 So.2d 488, 490, 492 (La.Ct.App. 1st Cir.1976) (stating that State of Louisiana is defendant in case in which employees of Southern University were found negligent). 26
27 There are two characteristics of this prong of the Delahoussaye test--the first is whether Southern receives state funds, and the second is whether or not money damages assessed against Southern are paid from the State treasury. Although Southern has the authority to raise funds by accepting donations, bequests, or other forms of financial assistance from private persons or the federal government, La. R.S. 17:3351(A)(2) (West 1982), Southern nevertheless receives funds from the State of Louisiana as an agency within the executive department. 13 See, e.g., La. R.S. 38:2436A (West 1989) (earmarking $1,750,000 of bond revenues to Southern University); 38:2436B (West 1989) (earmarking $1,850,000 of bond revenues to Southern University, which is deemed Under the Control of the State Board of Education); Carter v. Fench, 322 So.2d 305, 307 (La.Ct.App. 1st Cir.1975) (holding that the Student Government Association of Southern University in Baton Rouge was a student association which received from that University a portion of each student's registration fee, and those funds were considered 'public funds'), writ denied, 325 So.2d 277 (La.1976). 28 In addition, and perhaps most importantly, we have stated that because an important goal of the eleventh amendment is the protection of states' treasuries, the most significant factor in assessing an entity's status is whether a judgment against it will be paid with state funds. McDonald v. Board of Miss. Levee Comm'rs, 832 F.2d 901, 907 (5th Cir.1987) (emphasis added); see also Jacintoport Corp. v. Greater Baton Rouge Port Comm'n, 762 F.2d 435, 440-41 (5th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1057, 106 S.Ct. 797, 88 L.Ed.2d 774 (1986). Because Southern and its Board are considered an agency of the State of Louisiana, any money judgments rendered against Southern or its Board are payable from funds appropriated by the Louisiana Legislature. LA. CONST. art. 12, § 10; La. R.S. 13:5109B(2) (West 1991); Muhammed, 715 F.Supp. at 734.
29 Although Southern's Board enjoys some degree of autonomy from the State of Louisiana (see footnote 12), the composition of Southern's Board is controlled by the State. For example, the governor appoints and the Louisiana Senate must approve the members of Southern's Board. La. R.S. 17:1831 (West 1982). In addition, as we have noted, Southern's Board is under the auspices of a Board of Regents whose members are also appointed by the governor and approved by the state senate. LA. CONST. art. 8, § 5(A). Finally, the Board's ability to raise funds by borrowing money or issuing notes, bonds, or certificates of indebtedness is somewhat circumscribed because such fundraising must meet with the approval of the State Bond Commission. La. R.S. 17:3351A(4) (West 1982). These facts, taken together, sufficiently demonstrate that Southern's limited autonomy does not take it out from underneath the protective cloak of Eleventh Amendment immunity. See Delahoussaye, 937 F.2d at 147. 14 30
31 There can be no doubt that Southern's mission is predominantly (if not primarily) aimed at addressing matters of state-wide concern. Not only does Southern currently maintain state-funded campuses across the State (Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Shreveport, La. R.S. 17:3216 (West 1982)), but it is also involved in a number of activities that benefit all citizens of Louisiana. 15 That Southern is only one of many state-funded schools does not deprive it of Eleventh Amendment immunity. See Delahoussaye, 937 F.2d at 148. 32 E. The Last Two Delahoussaye Factors--The Right to Sue or be Sued and the Right to Hold and Use Property 33 Only Southern's Board, and not the University itself, can sue or be sued. See La. R.S. 17:3351A(1) (West 1982); Muhammed, 715 F.Supp. at 733; see also Emoakemeh v. Southern Univ., 654 So.2d 474, 475 (La.Ct.App. 1st Cir.1995) (suing the State of Louisiana through the Southern University Board of Supervisors); Marson v. Northwestern State Univ., 607 So.2d 1093, 1095 (La.Ct.App.3d Cir.1992) (holding that plaintiff had no cause of action against Northwestern State University, but rather against the Board of Trustees, who under the constitution and statutes, is the right defendant under its supervisory powers (citing LA. CONST. art. 8, § 6 (West 1996) and La. R.S. 17:3351(A)(1))). Similarly, Southern's Board has the right to hold and use property, but the University itself does not. La. R.S. 17:3351A(6), (8), (9) (West 1982); Muhammed, 715 F.Supp. at 734. 34 However, just because Southern's Board can be sued and can hold and use property does not mean that these final two factors weigh against a finding of sovereign immunity. In fact, precisely the opposite is true. First, as we have noted, Louisiana has not waived its immunity from suit in federal court. See La.R.S. 13:5106A. Second, and perhaps most importantly, money judgments against the Board are paid by the State of Louisiana. See, e.g., Delahoussaye, 937 F.2d at 148 n. 6. Accordingly, the final two Delahoussaye factors do not prevent us from finding that Southern and its Board of Supervisors are entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity.