The Descendants Project v. St. John the Baptist Parish

At a Glance

Date Filed: 

November 9, 2021

Current Status 

On August 4, 2023, the court struck down the zoning ordinance, declaring it null and void. On January 9, 2024, the court denied the defendants' motions for a new trial, and instead maintained its earlier ruling that the ordinance was null and void. 

Co-Counsel 

Bill Quigley

Client(s) 

Jo Banner, Joy Banner

Case Description 

On November 9, 2021, on behalf of The Descendants Project, an organization founded to advocate for descendants of people once enslaved in Louisiana’s river parishes, the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a writ of mandamus to declare a decades-old rezoning ordinance null and void and order St. John the Baptist Parish to remove it from all of its maps and records. 

Their suit stems from the 1990 corrupt rezoning of a large tract of rural land to industrial use in Wallace, La. In 1996, Lester Millet Jr., former council president of St. John the Baptist Parish, was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for his role in trying to aid Formosa, a Taiwanese corporation, build a rayon pulp factory next to Wallace. Millet engaged in money laundering and extortion and issued threats of expropriation to residents to coerce them into selling their land to Formosa. Millet abused his official position to push through the new zoning ordinance. 

The Banners grew up in Wallace, and now own and operate a cafe that sells goods made from the recipes of their ancestors and presents the Afro-Creole history of the region through the lens of their own family oral histories. Now, they are fighting to save their community from a proposed grain terminal that would bring more grain, dust, and pollution to their neighborhood. The residents of Wallace, a small town 40 miles west of New Orleans, point to the illegality of the corruption and scandal that surrounded the rezoning in urging the court to nullify the ordinance and thus prohibit heavy industrial development.

 

Case Timeline

January 9, 2024
Court denies defendants' requests for a new trial
January 9, 2024
Court denies defendants' requests for a new trial
The court denies defendants' motions for a new trial and maintains its earlier ruling that the 1990 ordinance was null and void.
December 6, 2023
The Descendants Project's Opposition to Motion to Consolidate
December 6, 2023
The Descendants Project's Opposition to Motion to Consolidate
The Descendants Project files motion opposing Defendants' efforts to consolidate this matter with a new case brought to address procedural improprieties in Parish's current efforts to rezone the property.
December 6, 2023
The Descendants Project's Opposition to Motion for New Trial
December 6, 2023
The Descendants Project's Opposition to Motion for New Trial
The Descendants Project files brief opposing the Defendants' motions for new trial.
December 4, 2023
Greenfield Motion to Consolidate
December 4, 2023
Greenfield Motion to Consolidate
Greenfield joins Parish's motion to consolidate this matter with new case filed by The Descendants Project to address procedural improprieties in Parish's current attempt to rezone the property.
October 18, 2023
Parish Motion to Consolidate
October 18, 2023
Parish Motion to Consolidate
Parish moves to consolidate this case with a new case filed by The Descendants Project that addresses concerns about procedural irregularities in Parish's current attempts to rezone the property.
August 15, 2023
Parish Motion for New Trial
August 15, 2023
Parish Motion for New Trial
Parish joins Greenfield in urging Court to reverse its decision.
August 15, 2023
Greenfield Motion for New Trial
August 15, 2023
Greenfield Motion for New Trial
Greenfield urges the court to reverse its ruling that invalidated the 1990 ordinance that rezoned the land from residential to heavy industrial.
August 4, 2023
Court strikes down zoning ordinance
May 3, 2023
The Descendants Project reply brief
May 3, 2023
The Descendants Project reply brief
On behalf of the Descendants Project, we file a reply brief in further support of our cross-motion for summary judgment.
April 25, 2023
Greenfield files opposition to The Descendants Project's cross-motion
April 25, 2023
Greenfield files opposition to The Descendants Project's cross-motion
Defendant Greenfield files a brief opposing the cross-motion for summary judgment filed by The Descendants Project.
March 6, 2023
The Descendants Project cross-moves for summary judgment
March 6, 2023
The Descendants Project cross-moves for summary judgment
The Descendants Project cross-moves for summary judgment showing that the Parish illegally passed an ordinance in 1990 and asking the court to declare it null and void.
February 13, 2023
Parish defendants file motion for summary judgment
February 13, 2023
Parish defendants file motion for summary judgment
The Parish defendants file a motion for summary judgment seeking to have The Descendants Project's claims dismissed.
January 6, 2023
Defendant Greenfield files motion for summary judgment
January 6, 2023
Defendant Greenfield files motion for summary judgment
08/15/2022
Court of Appeal rules in favor of The Descendants Project, sends case back to trial court
08/15/2022
Court of Appeal rules in favor of The Descendants Project, sends case back to trial court
The appellate court notifies parties that it denied Greenfield's application for appellate review and issues a written ruling approving of the trial court's decision. The case goes back to trial court.
June 24, 2022
Plaintiffs file opposition to Greenfield's writ application
June 24, 2022
Plaintiffs file opposition to Greenfield's writ application
June 10, 2022
Greenfield files an application for interlocutory review with the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal
June 10, 2022
Greenfield files an application for interlocutory review with the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal
June 1, 2022
Plaintiffs file their reply in support of their request for a Preliminary Injunction
June 1, 2022
Plaintiffs file their reply in support of their request for a Preliminary Injunction
Plaintiffs file their reply in support of their request for a Preliminary Injunction to protect burial grounds of enslaved people
June 1, 2022
Plaintiffs file their opposition to Greenfield's request to stay the proceedings in trial court
June 1, 2022
Plaintiffs file their opposition to Greenfield's request to stay the proceedings in trial court
May 31, 2022
Greenfield files notice of its intent to appeal
May 31, 2022
Greenfield files notice of its intent to appeal
Greenfield files notice of its intent to appeal court's ruling denying its motion to dismiss and a request to stay the proceedings in the trial court.
May 26, 2022
Greenfield files its Opposition to Preliminary Injunction
May 26, 2022
Greenfield files its Opposition to Preliminary Injunction
May 20, 2022
CCR files motion to supplement Motion for Temporary Restraining Order
May 20, 2022
CCR files motion to supplement Motion for Temporary Restraining Order
After revelations about whistleblower concerns for sacred Black history, CCR files a motion to supplement its motion for a temporary restraining order with the newly reported information on behalf of the Descendants Project.
May 18, 2022
Emergency request for temporary restraining order filed
May 18, 2022
Emergency request for temporary restraining order filed
Center for Constitutional Rights files an emergency request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on behalf of the Descendant's Project to prevent the grain elevator company from conducting ground-disturbing construction activity on the project site in order to protect burial grounds of people once enslaved there. Attached are the Motion for TRO, Memorandum of Law, and relevant declarations and exhibits.
May 10, 2022
District Court Allows Case to Proceed
May 10, 2022
District Court Allows Case to Proceed
Judge denies Defendants' motions to dismiss and allows The Descendants Project case to proceed.
April 20, 2022
CCR files opposition to the Exceptions filed by Defendants seeking to have the case dismissed.
April 20, 2022
CCR files opposition to the Exceptions filed by Defendants seeking to have the case dismissed.
On behalf of Descendants Project and Petitioners Jo and Joy Banner, CCR files their opposition to the Exceptions filed by Defendants seeking to have the case dismissed.
February 28, 2022
Greenfield Louisiana files motion seeking to have Descendant's Project's claims dismissed
February 28, 2022
Greenfield Louisiana files motion seeking to have Descendant's Project's claims dismissed
Defendant Greenfield Louisiana, a grain elevator company, files motions seeking to have Descendants Project claims dismissed. The Parish defendants joined in the motions
2/14/2022
Second Amended Petition
2/14/2022
Second Amended Petition
Descendants Project files Second Amended Petition after finding maps which show that in 2006, Formosa sold the land with a residential zoning designation - the same land that had been purportedly rezoned to I-3 industrial in 1990 amid scandal and controversy. This comes on the heels of discovering that an official map of the land that accompanied the 1990 rezoning ordinance had been torn from the official records in the clerk's office.
01/17/2022
On behalf of the Descendants Project, CCR files Amended Petition
01/17/2022
On behalf of the Descendants Project, CCR files Amended Petition
After court converted the original mandamus proceeding into an ordinary proceeding, CCR filed an Amended Petition.
December 16, 2021
Court rules lawsuit may proceed
December 14, 2021
The Center for Constitutional Rights and the Descendant's Project file reply motion
December 14, 2021
The Center for Constitutional Rights and the Descendant's Project file reply motion
CCR and Descendant's Project respond to Parish Council and Greenfield's exceptions
December 10, 2021
Greenfield Louisiana, LLC joins lawsuit
December 10, 2021
Greenfield Louisiana, LLC joins lawsuit
Greenfield intervenes in case filing a memorandum in opposition to Descendant Project's mandamus and in support of Parish's exceptions.
December 9, 2021
Parish Council replies to writ of mandamus
December 9, 2021
Parish Council replies to writ of mandamus
Defendants oppose memorandum and claim exceptions for an unauthorized use of Summary Proceedings.
November 9, 2021
Center for Constitutional Rights and The Descendant's Project file writ of mandamus
November 9, 2021
Center for Constitutional Rights and The Descendant's Project file writ of mandamus
The following documents are filed in court. Read the affidavits of Harriet Banner, Jo Banner, and Joy Banner to learn how industrial industries have affected the Banner family.