Plaintiffs cite attorney oversight in bid to reopen Fifth Circuit appeal
MANDEVILLE — Just one day after the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed their appeal for failure to prosecute, LSU Health Foundation New Orleans and Woodward Harbor LLC have asked the court to reinstate the case, acknowledging the dismissal resulted from an internal oversight by their attorneys.
In a motion filed Wednesday, the plaintiffs ask the appellate court to reopen the appeal after it was dismissed Aug. 4 because required record excerpts were not timely filed. Their attorneys state the omission was “an isolated oversight based on internal miscommunications” and argue the deficiency has now been corrected by filing the required documents.
The motion notes that the plaintiffs had timely filed their principal appellate brief on July 10 and contends reopening the appeal would not prejudice the City of Mandeville because the city has already received an unopposed extension until Sept. 9 to file its response brief.
To satisfy the Fifth Circuit’s reinstatement procedures, the plaintiffs attached the missing record excerpts, including the district court docket, notice of appeal, final judgment and the orders entered by U.S. District Judge Brandon S. Long dismissing the claims at issue.
The motion also states that counsel for the City of Mandeville was contacted on Aug. 4 and again on Aug. 5 regarding the request but had not indicated whether the city would oppose reinstatement of the appeal.
The appeal seeks review of Judge Long’s February ruling dismissing with prejudice the remaining claims brought by LSU Health Foundation and Woodward Harbor against the City of Mandeville. As before, the appeal does not include claims against Councilman-at-Large Jason Zuckerman, whose dismissal is not being challenged.
If granted, the motion would simply restore the appeal to the court’s active docket. The Fifth Circuit has not yet ruled on whether it will reinstate the case.
-30-
© 2026 Mandeville Daily. All rights reserved. Republishing permitted with attribution and link to the original article.
One thought on “LSU Health Foundation, Woodward Harbor seek to revive dismissed Sucette Harbor appeal”