La. Stat. tit. 38 § 1
The department of public works is hereby created and is hereby declared to be and continued as a body politic and corporate. The domicile of the department of public works is the city of Baton Rouge, and service of citation and other service of process shall be made by handing the citation and other process to the director or the chief engineer. The department may acquire, own, administer, alienate and otherwise dispose of all kinds of property, movable and immovable, tangible or intangible; contract; adopt, alter or destroy an official seal; sue and be sued and implead and be impleaded; provided, however, that the authorization to sue and to be sued shall not authorize suits against the department for recovery of damages ex delicto.
La. R.S. § 38:1