Legal Corner: May a police chief establish a ticket quota or other incentives for officers to write tickets?

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - Legal Corner answers viewers’ civil legal questions.

QUESTION: May a police chief establish a ticket quota or other incentives for officers to write tickets?

ANSWER: A police officer may not establish a ticket quota or other incentives for officers to write tickets.

The applicable Louisiana law is La. RS 40:2401.1, which provides:

A. No municipality or any police department thereof, nor any parish or any sheriff’s department thereof, shall establish or maintain, formally or informally, a plan to evaluate, promote, compensate, or discipline a law enforcement officer on the basis of the officer making a predetermined or specified number of any type or combination of types of arrests or require or suggest to a law enforcement officer, that the law enforcement officer is required or expected to make a predetermined or specified number of any type or combination of types of arrests within a specified period.

B. No municipality or any police department thereof, nor any parish or any sheriff’s department thereof, shall establish or maintain, formally or informally, a plan to evaluate, promote, compensate, or discipline a law enforcement officer on the basis of the officer’s issuance of a predetermined or specified number of any type or combination of types of traffic citations or require or suggest to a law enforcement officer, that the law enforcement officer is required or expected to issue a predetermined or specified number of any type or combination of types of traffic citations within a specified period.

C. No state agency, political subdivision, or law enforcement agency shall offer a financial reward or other benefit to a law enforcement officer which is determined by or based on the number of citations issued.

D. This Section shall not prohibit a municipality from obtaining budgetary information from a municipal court or a municipal court of record, including an estimate of the amount of money the court anticipates will be collected in a budget year.

QUESTION: My family and I recently moved into our home. Soon after moving in, we discovered many defects that were not disclosed by the seller. Do we have recourse options since the defects were discovered after we finalized the purchase agreement and closing?

ANSWER: The buyer may pursue either a redhibition claim and/or a breach of contract claim. In Louisiana, redhibition allows a buyer to sue for a return of the property or a price reduction if a defect exists that had the buyer known, she likely would not have purchased it. If the sales contract included specific warranties or obligations regarding the property’s condition, a breach of contract claim may be possible if the seller failed to meet those obligations.

Louisiana law requires sellers to disclose any known defects to potential buyers. If the seller knew about the defects but failed to disclose them, the buyer may have grounds for a claim.

Ordinarily, only home defects that are legally considered “material” and that the buyer did not know about, but which the seller did at the time of sale, will allow a buyer to recover from the seller. Examples of material defects include, but are not limited to:

1. Roofing problems

2. Electrical and wiring issues

3. Water damage

4. Plumbing problems

5. Foundation problems

Sellers are required to provide to buyers the disclosure document which discloses known defects. If a seller intentionally misrepresents information on the disclosure, it could lead to a it could lead to a lawsuit.

A qualified attorney with experience in housing and construction defects can help one understand her rights and options.