BaLaCuTe3 crystallizes in the orthorhombic Pnma space group. Ba(1) is bonded in a 7-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Te(1), two equivalent Te(2), and three equivalent Te(3) atoms. La(1) is bonded to two equivalent Te(1), two equivalent Te(2), and two equivalent Te(3) atoms to form LaTe6 octahedra that share corners with two equivalent La(1)Te6 octahedra, edges with two equivalent La(1)Te6 octahedra, and edges with four equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 39°. Cu(1) is bonded to one Te(2), one Te(3), and two equivalent Te(1) atoms to form CuTe4 tetrahedra that share corners with two equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra and edges with four equivalent La(1)Te6 octahedra. There are three inequivalent Te sites. In the first Te site, Te(1) is bonded to two equivalent Ba(1), two equivalent La(1), and two equivalent Cu(1) atoms to form distorted TeBa2La2Cu2 octahedra that share corners with two equivalent Te(1)Ba2La2Cu2 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Te(3)Ba3La2Cu octahedra, corners with four equivalent Te(2)Ba2La2Cu square pyramids, edges with two equivalent Te(1)Ba2La2Cu2 octahedra, edges with five equivalent Te(3)Ba3La2Cu octahedra, and edges with three equivalent Te(2)Ba2La2Cu square pyramids. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 5-30°. In the second Te site, Te(2) is bonded to two equivalent Ba(1), two equivalent La(1), and one Cu(1) atom to form distorted TeBa2La2Cu square pyramids that share corners with four equivalent Te(1)Ba2La2Cu2 octahedra, corners with six equivalent Te(3)Ba3La2Cu octahedra,  an edgeedge with one Te(3)Ba3La2Cu octahedra, edges with three equivalent Te(1)Ba2La2Cu2 octahedra, edges with two equivalent Te(2)Ba2La2Cu square pyramids, and  a faceface with one Te(3)Ba3La2Cu octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 1-86°. In the third Te site, Te(3) is bonded to three equivalent Ba(1), two equivalent La(1), and one Cu(1) atom to form distorted TeBa3La2Cu octahedra that share corners with two equivalent Te(1)Ba2La2Cu2 octahedra, corners with six equivalent Te(2)Ba2La2Cu square pyramids, edges with four equivalent Te(3)Ba3La2Cu octahedra, edges with five equivalent Te(1)Ba2La2Cu2 octahedra,  an edgeedge with one Te(2)Ba2La2Cu square pyramid, and  a faceface with one Te(2)Ba2La2Cu square pyramid. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 30°.
BaLaCuTe3 crystallizes in the orthorhombic Pnma space group. Ba(1) is bonded in a 7-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Te(1), two equivalent Te(2), and three equivalent Te(3) atoms. Both Ba(1)-Te(1) bond lengths are 3.53 Å. Both Ba(1)-Te(2) bond lengths are 3.54 Å. There are two shorter (3.53 Å) and one longer (3.77 Å) Ba(1)-Te(3) bond length. La(1) is bonded to two equivalent Te(1), two equivalent Te(2), and two equivalent Te(3) atoms to form LaTe6 octahedra that share corners with two equivalent La(1)Te6 octahedra, edges with two equivalent La(1)Te6 octahedra, and edges with four equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 39°. There is one shorter (3.18 Å) and one longer (3.19 Å) La(1)-Te(1) bond length. Both La(1)-Te(2) bond lengths are 3.20 Å. Both La(1)-Te(3) bond lengths are 3.23 Å. Cu(1) is bonded to one Te(2), one Te(3), and two equivalent Te(1) atoms to form CuTe4 tetrahedra that share corners with two equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra and edges with four equivalent La(1)Te6 octahedra. The Cu(1)-Te(2) bond length is 2.66 Å. The Cu(1)-Te(3) bond length is 2.69 Å. Both Cu(1)-Te(1) bond lengths are 2.74 Å. There are three inequivalent Te sites. In the first Te site, Te(1) is bonded to two equivalent Ba(1), two equivalent La(1), and two equivalent Cu(1) atoms to form distorted TeBa2La2Cu2 octahedra that share corners with two equivalent Te(1)Ba2La2Cu2 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Te(3)Ba3La2Cu octahedra, corners with four equivalent Te(2)Ba2La2Cu square pyramids, edges with two equivalent Te(1)Ba2La2Cu2 octahedra, edges with five equivalent Te(3)Ba3La2Cu octahedra, and edges with three equivalent Te(2)Ba2La2Cu square pyramids. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 5-30°. In the second Te site, Te(2) is bonded to two equivalent Ba(1), two equivalent La(1), and one Cu(1) atom to form distorted TeBa2La2Cu square pyramids that share corners with four equivalent Te(1)Ba2La2Cu2 octahedra, corners with six equivalent Te(3)Ba3La2Cu octahedra,  an edgeedge with one Te(3)Ba3La2Cu octahedra, edges with three equivalent Te(1)Ba2La2Cu2 octahedra, edges with two equivalent Te(2)Ba2La2Cu square pyramids, and  a faceface with one Te(3)Ba3La2Cu octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 1-86°. In the third Te site, Te(3) is bonded to three equivalent Ba(1), two equivalent La(1), and one Cu(1) atom to form distorted TeBa3La2Cu octahedra that share corners with two equivalent Te(1)Ba2La2Cu2 octahedra, corners with six equivalent Te(2)Ba2La2Cu square pyramids, edges with four equivalent Te(3)Ba3La2Cu octahedra, edges with five equivalent Te(1)Ba2La2Cu2 octahedra,  an edgeedge with one Te(2)Ba2La2Cu square pyramid, and  a faceface with one Te(2)Ba2La2Cu square pyramid. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 30°.