BATON ROUGE - Metro Councilmember Cleve Dunn filed a lawsuit to remove a judge who ruled against him in a years-long property dispute with his neighbors. 

In March, Judge Beau Higginbotham ordered Dunn to pay $57,000 to his neighbors, Donna and Eugene Michelli, after adding a cabana and a fence in a place that caused flooding in Michelli's yard. 

In August, Dunn's lawyer asked Higginbotham to step down from the case—even though the state supreme court upheld the judge's decision. Higginbotham declined to step aside. 

On Thursday, Dunn filed an official lawsuit claiming Higginbotham does not have the legal right to be a judge and preside over his case. 

Since the March decision, the Michellis have not been paid the $57,000.