Ex-Pig Stand owner allowed to pursue suit

OPELOUSAS – Barry Giglio isn’t ready to be counted out just yet.
The former Pig Stand Restaurant owner, who was arrested along with eight other individuals for child sex abuse charges in 2011, appeared before St. Landry Parish Judge Gerald Caswell on Monday to argue that his lawsuit filed in 2012 against the Louisiana State Police and foster parents involved in the allegations that led to his arrest had not been abandoned.
Patrick Wartell, who represents the foster parents - Dwayne and Mindy Venable - in this matter, filed an affidavit on November 23, 2016 swearing he had personal knowledge that the “last action taken in this suit was a Protective Order filed on behalf of all parties on October 31, 2013.”
The law allows a plaintiff in a matter such as Giglio’s three years to file documents in the case to keep the lawsuit open. Therefore, if what Wartell swore to in his affidavit in November was found to be true then the Ville Platte resident would have missed his opportunity to bring legal action against the ones he claims “destroyed” his life “with their allegations.”
However, Giglio’s attorney Roy Richard filed a subpoena for records from Evangeline Parish Sheriff Eddie Soileau on behalf of his client in July of 2016 - which was three months before the October 31, 2016 abandonment date.
Attorneys for the State and the Venables argued that although the clerk’s records showed that the subpoena had been filed in July, they had never been made aware of the document. This is required according to the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure when requesting materials that are a part of discovery - a pre-trial procedure in which each party obtains evidence from the other party or parties if they wish to do so.
However, the law does not state that all parties involved in the suit must be notified if a third party not involved in the matter is subpoenaed for records that may or may not be a part of discovery.
Unable to find any law or ruling that determined that a subpoena on a third party has to be sent to the defendants in a case, Judge Caswell ruled in the plaintiff’s favor.
Caswell said, “I am perplexed as to whether your subpoena is sufficient enough to interrupt the abandonment period. I don’t grant an abandonment if I have any doubt, and in this matter, I have doubt. Therefore, this court denies the request for abandonment.”
Following the hearing, Giglio stated, “I am still a little in shock. I wasn’t sure how this hearing was going to go today, but I am very pleased with the outcome. I have nothing left to lose at this point, so I’m not going to give up. We are going to fight this thing to the end.”