INDReporter

Lawsuit against Cockerham gets stranger

by Patrick Flanagan

The attorney representing LPSB member Mark Cockerham in a lawsuit calling for the vacancy of his District 7 seat is questioning an attempt to expedite the process.

[CORRECTION: This story has been corrected to reflect that attorney Bill Goode did not need to request a subpoena for the amended petition, only that the suit be served. Also, attorney Gary McGoffin tells The IND Goode was not supportive of his attempt to depose Nancy Cech.]

LPSB's Mark Cockerham

The attorney representing Lafayette Parish School Board member Mark Cockerham in a lawsuit calling for the vacancy of his District 7 seat is questioning an attempt to expedite the process.

In a letter submitted Wednesday to 15th Judicial District Judge Marilyn Castle, Cockerham's attorney, Gary McGoffin, says he was surprised to find out, from the media, that attorney Bill Goode had entered a motion Tuesday for the expedited hearing. (Disclosure: McGoffin is The IND's legal counsel.)

On Friday, McGoffin was slated to depose Nancy Cech, who originally filed the suit in proper person, meaning she supposedly was acting without representation from an attorney. (It was clear to any attorney and non-attorney that she had assistance with the petition.)

That all changed, however, when Cockerham's challenger on the school board, local attorney Dawn Morris, joined Cech in calling for the board member's seat, claiming he no longer lives within the district. Along with Morris, attorney Bill Goode also joined in on the suit last week as legal counsel for the two.

What's strange about the lawsuit, and is noted in McGoffin's letter, is that neither Cech nor Goode ever requested that the court serve the defendant with the suit.

McGoffin writes:

[T]he petition directed the Clerk of Court to **Please Withhold Service At This Time**

An amended petition was filed including attorney [Bill Goode] and school board candidate Dawn Morris as an additional party plaintiff last Friday. Again, no service instructions were included with the pleading or the cover letter to the filing.

According to McGoffin, he didn't learn of Goode's motion for an expedited hearing - which would skip Cech's deposition - until he was contacted Tuesday by the local media.

"The purpose of this letter is to alert the Court to our opposition and the need for these issues to be thoughtfully presented after the necessary discovery has been concluded," writes McGoffin.

While it's unclear how Judge Castle will rule on this matter, it is certainly a very good possibility Cech will have to testify under oath on her reasons for filing the suit, which could reveal who put her up to it in the first place.

Go here and here for more on this story.