RS 22:1931.10

706 words·~3 min read·/la/title-22/22-2319

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

RS 22:1931.10

NOTE: Pursuant to R.S. 22:1931.13, this Section terminates on July 1, 2024.

§1931.10. Civil investigative demand

A. If the attorney general has information, evidence, or reason to believe that any person or entity may be in possession, custody, or control of any documentary material or information relevant to an investigation for a possible violation of this Part, he or any of his assistants may issue to the person or entity a civil investigative demand before the commencement of a civil proceeding to require the production of the documentary material for inspection or copying or reproduction, or the answering under oath and in writing of interrogatories.

Any civil investigative demand issued pursuant to this Part shall state a general description of the subject matter being investigated and the applicable provisions of law constituting the alleged violation of this Part. A civil investigative demand for the production of documentary material shall describe each class of documentary material to be produced with such definiteness and certainty as to permit such material to be fairly identified. A civil investigative demand for answers to written interrogatories shall set forth with specificity the written interrogatories to be answered.

Each investigative demand shall set a return date of no earlier than twenty days after service of the demand upon the person or his representative or agent.

B. A civil investigative demand issued pursuant to this Part may be served by the sheriff or a P.O.S.T.-certified investigator employed by the attorney general or by the office of state police when the demand is issued to a resident or a domestic business entity found in this state. A civil investigative demand issued to a non-resident or a foreign business entity may be served using long-arm jurisdiction as provided for in the Code of Civil Procedure.

C. Upon failure to comply with the civil investigative demand, the attorney general may apply to the district court having jurisdiction over the person to compel compliance with the civil investigative demand.

D. Except as otherwise provided in this Section, no documentary material, answers to interrogatories, or copies thereof, while in the possession of the attorney general or any other agency assisting the attorney general with the matter under investigation, shall be available for examination by any person or entity except as determined by the attorney general and subject to any conditions imposed by him for effective enforcement of the laws of this state. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit or limit the attorney general from sharing any documentary material, answers to interrogatories, or copies thereof with the United States government, any other state government, any federal or state agency, or any person or entity that may be assisting in the investigation or prosecution of the subject matter of the civil investigative demand.

E. The attorney general may use documentary material derived from information obtained pursuant to this Section, or copies of that material, as the attorney general determines necessary for the enforcement of the laws of this state, including presentation before a court.

F. If any documentary material has been produced by any person or entity in the course of any investigation pursuant to a civil investigative demand and any case or proceeding before the court or grand jury arising out of such investigation, or any proceeding before any state agency involving such material has been completed, or if no case or proceeding in which such material may be used has been commenced within a reasonable time after analysis of all documentary material and other information assembled in the course of the investigation, the attorney general, upon written request of the person or entity who produced the material, shall return to such person or entity any such material that has not passed into the control of any court, grand jury, or agency through introduction into the record of such case or proceeding.

G. "Documentary material" as used in this Section shall include but is not limited to all electronically-stored information including writings, drawings, graphs, charts, photographs, sound recordings, images, and other data or data compilations that would be subject to a request for production under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 as it exists now or is hereafter amended.

Acts 2012, No. 862, §1.