Art. 551.1. Substitution of railroad defendant at arraignment

A. Subject to the provisions of Paragraph D, at arraignment and upon verified motion of the railroad employer of an employee-defendant charged with a violation of a parish or municipal ordinance, the railroad employer shall be substituted as defendant in the proceedings in accordance with the provisions of Paragraphs B and C.

B. Any railroad employer seeking to be substituted as the defendant in any proceeding citing its employee for a violation of any parish or municipal ordinance must file a verified motion setting forth the facts that the defendant is its employee, and at the time of the violation, the defendant was in the employ of the railroad employer and was performing his duties and functions in the course and scope of his employment which caused the violation, in accordance with the rules and regulations or instructions of the employer.

C. Subject to the provisions of Paragraph D, upon the timely filing of the motion to substitute defendant by the railroad employer, the railroad employer shall be substituted as the defendant in the proceedings, the individual employee shall be dismissed as a defendant, and the charges against the individual employee shall be erased from the record, at which time the railroad defendant shall be the sole defendant and entity responsible for the violation of the parish or municipal ordinance as originally cited.

D. The provisions of this Article shall not apply to or be available in prosecutions involving the alleged consumption of alcohol or controlled dangerous substances.

Acts 1993, No. 360, §1, eff. June 3, 1993.