§109. Public accountant review panel; composition; selection of attorney member

A. The public accountant review panel shall consist of three certified public accountants, who have held unlimited licenses to practice their profession in Louisiana for ten consecutive years, and one attorney. The parties may agree on the attorney member of the public accountant panel or, if no agreement can be reached, then the society shall notify the office of the clerk of the Louisiana Supreme Court who, upon receipt of notification, shall draw five names at random from the list of attorneys who reside or maintain an office in the parish in which the certified public accountant or firm that is the subject of the request for review maintains its principal place of business. The names of judges, magistrates, district attorneys, and assistant district attorneys shall be excluded if drawn and new names drawn in their place.

B. After selection of the attorney names, the office of the clerk of the Louisiana Supreme Court shall notify the society of the names so selected. It shall be the duty of the society to notify the parties of the attorneys' names from which the parties may choose the attorney member of the panel within five days. If no agreement can be reached within five days, the parties shall immediately initiate a procedure of selecting the attorney by each striking two names alternately, with the claimant striking first and advising the certified public accountant or firm of the name of the attorney so stricken; thereafter, the certified public accountant or firm and the claimant shall alternately strike until both sides have stricken two names and the remaining name shall be the attorney member of the panel. If either the plaintiff or defendant fails to strike, the clerk of the Louisiana Supreme Court shall strike for that party within five additional days. After the striking, the office of the clerk shall notify the attorney and all other parties of the name of the selected attorney.

C. After the selection of the attorney member of the public accountant review panel, each party to the action shall send to the society a deposit of one thousand two hundred fifty dollars to defray the costs of the panel. When there are multiple claimants or defendants, there shall be only one deposit required per side.

Acts 1997, No. 747, §1; Acts 2006, No. 214, §1.