BATON ROUGE, La. ― A state judge Monday threw out a lawsuit filed by Southern University student Author Joiner who sued the school for refusing to renew its contract with Chancellor James Llorens.
District Judge Mike Caldwell dismissed the suit Monday after hearing arguments from Joiner and Southern Board of Supervisors attorney Winston Decuir Jr.
The Advocate reports Caldwell ruled that Joiner, who’s also a Baton Rouge lawyer, is “little more than an interested bystander” and had no right to sue the school’s supervisory board.
After the hearing, Joiner said he’ll likely ask the state 1st Circuit Court of Appeal to review Caldwell’s decision.
Lloren’s three-year contract is set to expire June 30.
The board voted 9-6 on Feb. 8 not to renew Llorens’ contract. The board then voted 8-7 on Feb. 24 against extending the contract for a year. The board’s decision to let Llorens walk was met with an outcry from Llorens’ supporters and students who organized a rally, circulated an online petition and staged a sit-in.
Joiner, a Southern Law School alumnus now pursuing a master’s degree in business administration at Southern, contends the Board of Supervisors breached Llorens’ contract by not dealing fairly with the chancellor.
