Judge orders Ex-LSU administrator who sued Les Miles to pay him sanctions; appeal planned

A Baton Rouge judge this week again imposed sanctions on the former LSU athletic administrator who sued the university and former football coach Les Miles, accusing them of covering up sexual harassment allegations against Miles. District Judge Beau Higgonbotham ruled that there was no legal basis for the allegations Sharon Lewis and her lead attorney, Larry English, made that Miles violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, attorneys for both sides confirmed. He ordered them to pay Miles under procedural rules that allow "reasonable expenses" be paid to opposing parties on litigation that violates the civil code.

The dollar amount of the sanctions will be determined at a later date. English said he plans to appeal the decision to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal. He said a March order by U.

S. Judge Susie Morgan lends credence to his assertions that LSU, aided by attorneys from a local law firm, may have committed a crime in 2013 when they agreed to keep one of Miles' sexual harassment complaints and a subsequent investigation under wraps. “A federal District Court has found LSU likely violated a state RICO statute when Les Miles’ lawyer Peter Ginsberg and Taylor Porter lawyers concealed a directive letter in their law offices," he said.

"The United States 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, reviewing the same facts as Judge Higginbotham, considered Ms. Lewis' RICO claims substantial enough to hold oral arguments on June 5, 2023. ” Miles' lead attorney, Peter Ginsberg, did not respond to a request for comment.

In 2021, Lewis sued LSU and several high-ranking officials from the university's athletic department in both state and federal court, claiming coworkers and superiors retaliated against her after she reported to LSU athletic department officials that two former students made sexual harassment allegations against Miles. He was the Tigers' football coach at the time and was one of Lewis’ direct supervisors. It's the second time a judge in the state case has hit Lewis and English with sanctions.

As one of his last acts from the bench before retiring in December, former judge Tim Kelley imposed about $330,000 worth of sanctions against the plaintiff and her attorney, saying they made false and frivolous criminal allegations against three attorneys representing Baton Rouge law firm Taylor Porter. LSU hired the firm to investigate sexual harassment claims a student made against Miles in 2013. Lewis' suit alleged that the firm buried a formal report detailing Miles' behavior and worked with school officials as part of a "scheme" to keep his alleged harassment concealed.

In their court filings seeking sanctions, Miles' attorneys said Lewis and English made irresponsible and "willful misrepresentations" about the former coach. Higginbotham made his decision after listening to arguments for and against the sanctions during a March 8 hearing. He began presiding over the state case in January, following Kelley's departure.

The former judge dismissed several claims from the lawsuit in December, including one that school officials failed to protect Lewis after she came forward with alleged violations of Title IX federal regulations. English and his legal team are currently appealing those dismissals. Meanwhile, a separate civil lawsuit Lewis filed against LSU and university officials remains active in federal appeals court.

Morgan, the federal judge presiding over that case in the U. S. Middle District Court of Louisiana, tossed all of Lewis' federal RICO claims last September.

English has challenged her judgement and continues to battle that appeal in the U. S. 5th Circuit appellate court, which heard oral arguments from attorneys in June.

Justices have yet to issue their opinion. .