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NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION NO. 2006-CA-1464 * CHERYL ANN DUPRE VERSUS * COURT OF APPEAL

FOURTH CIRCUIT * LOUISIANA STATE BOARD OF PRACTICAL NURSE STATE OF LOUISIANA * EXAMINERS (F.P. BORDELON, JR., M.D. ******* (CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD), CLAIRE GLAVIANO, RN, BSN, MIN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR), TONI BOURQUARD, RN (COORDINATOR FOR COMPLIANCE) APPEAL FROM CIVIL DISTRICT COURT, ORLEANS PARISH NO. 2004-15616, DIVISION "G-11" Honorable Robin M. Giarrusso, Judge ****** Judge Patricia Rivet Murray ****** (Court composed of Judge Charles R. Jones, Judge Patricia Rivet Murray, Judge Terri F. Love) Cheryl Ann Dupre 3421 Baudin Street New Orleans, LA 70119 IN PROPER PERSON, PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT Francis B. Mulhall 3900 North Causeway Boulevard, Suite 1470 Metairie, LA 70002 COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANTS/APPELLEES (THE LOUISIANA STATE BOARD OF PRACTICAL NURSE EXAMINERS, ET AL.) Charles C. Foti, Jr. Attorney General Lance S. Guest Assistant Attorney General LA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Litigation Division 601 Poydras Street, Suite 1725 New Orleans, LA 70130 COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLEE (THE LOUISIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL) AFFIRMED

The plaintiff, Cheryl Ann Dupre, appeals the trial court's judgment dismissing her action after granting defendants' exceptions of lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a cause of action. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. Plaintiff filed the instant lawsuit against the Louisiana Board of Practical Nurse Examiners [hereinafter referred to as "the Board"] and its individual members alleging defamation based upon the Board's June 14, 2001 order suspending plaintiff's license as a practical nurse. Plaintiff's suit, styled as a "complaint,"1 was originally filed on September 6, 2001 in the 24th Judicial District Court for the Parish of Jefferson. On February 2, 2004, the Jefferson Parish court ordered the matter be transferred to Orleans Parish district court pursuant to La. R.S. 37:963, which provides that the domicile of the Board is in New Orleans. Following the transfer, the Louisiana Attorney General, who was served in addition to the Board, filed an exception of vagueness and nonconformity of the petition 2 On February 21, 2006, the trial court granted the exception, giving the
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Plaintiff appears in proper person. La. C.C.P. art. 891 regulates the form of a petition.

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plaintiff sixty days to amend. The plaintiff filed her amended petition timely. In response to the amended petition, the Attorney General, joined by the Board and the individual defendants, filed exceptions of lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a cause of action. After a hearing, the district court rendered judgment on July 14, 2006 granting both exceptions and dismissing plaintiff's suit with prejudice. The plaintiff now appeals that judgment. LACK OF SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION The district court found, without giving reasons, that it did not have jurisdiction to consider plaintiff's complaint. In support of their exception, defendants had argued the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction because the plaintiff had failed to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act, La. R.S. 49:950 et. seq., which stipulates the procedure for seeking judicial review of an administrative agency decision. Specifically, La. R.S. 49:964 provides, in pertinent part:

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