“My science was very good…My position at LSU was in jeopardy.”
Coastal researcher Ivor van Heerden testified Wednesday that LSU officials destroyed his reputation after he blamed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the levee failures that allowed Hurricane Katrina to flood New Orleans in 2005.
“My science was very good,” van Heerden told U.S. District Judge James J. Brady during questioning by attorney Jill Craft. “My position at LSU was in jeopardy.”
Van Heerden is asking Brady for an injunction that would prohibit LSU from allowing his contract to expire on Friday.
The hearing in April was for a Temporary Restraining Order that would prevent LSU from terminating van Heerden’s contract. SLABBED reported on the outcome of that hearing in the post, SLABBED follows “Levees.org’s EXCLUSIVE Interview with Ivor van Heerden on recent federal judge’s decision” with case documents telling the whole story – Shame on you LSU! In a comment to that post, Sydney explained more about the process:
i would posit that for purposes of the injunction, van heerden would need to establish that he would be prejudiced should LSU be allowed to exercise its plenary power to renew or not renew contracts of employment–not to have LSU explain why they “fired” him. However, even if he loses the injunction, he will still have his day in court if his original petition proceeds where he bear the burden to prove LSU’s actions were retailitory etc. if so, then it becomes a matter of damages.
So, the current hearing is part two of a three-part process and the issue to be decided at this point is whether the court will issue an Injunction that requires LSU to continue van Heerden’s contract as the case moves forward. For that to happen, van Heerden must prove he would be prejudiced if his contact was terminated: Continue reading “”