A plaintiff filing an expropriation petition must file it in the proper district court and include specified details and attachments.
§123. Contents of petition for expropriation; place of filing The right of expropriation granted by this Part shall be exercised in the following manner: (1) A petition shall be filed by the plaintiff in the district court of the parish in which the property to be expropriated is situated. However, where the property to be expropriated extends into two or more parishes and the owner of the property resides in one of them, the petition shall be filed in the district court of the parish where the owner resides, but if the owner does not reside in any one of the parishes into which the property extends, the petition may be filed in any one of the parishes. In all such cases, the court wherein the petition is filed shall have jurisdiction to adjudicate as to all the property involved. (2) The petition shall contain a statement of the purpose for which the property is to be expropriated, describing the property necessary therefor with a plan of the same, a description of the improvements thereon, if any, and the name of the owner if known. (3) The petition shall have annexed thereto the following: (a) A certified copy of a resolution adopted by the city council authorizing and declaring that the taking is necessary or useful for the purposes of this Part. (b) A certificate signed by the city engineer or, in his absence, his principal assistant, declaring that he has fixed the right of way in a manner sufficient in his judgment to provide for the public interest, safety, and convenience. (c) A certificate signed by the director of public works and the city engineer declaring that the location and design of the proposed improvements are in accordance with the best modern practices adopted in the interest of the safety and convenience of the public. (d) An itemized statement of the amount of money estimated to be the full extent of the owner's loss for the taking or the damage, or both, as the case may be. It shall be signed by those who made the estimate, showing the capacity in which they acted, and the date on which it was made. Acts 1985, No. 548, §1, eff. July 12, 1985.