SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – An ongoing legal dispute of monies owed and budgetary obligations between the City of Shreveport and the Shreveport City Marshals Office was decided by the Louisiana Second Circuit Court on Friday.

The State Supreme Court sided with the city and overturned the June 2021 judgment in Caddo District Court to award $1,530,405 to the Marshal’s Office.

In the original lawsuit, the Marshal’s Office was asking for $9.7 million which it claimed the city owed for discretionary funds. Discretionary accounts contain money collected for various fees, fines, and services, and the lawsuit, originally filed in 2020 claimed the City Marshal had to pay from $700,000 to $900,000 annually out of its own money for operational expenses since 2008.

The city appealed the lower court decision and the justices reversed the order and dismissed the Marshal’s petition.

In its decision, the court noted that the city was in accordance with the city charter, and all obligations that the charter sets forth that the city provides for the Marshal are in compliance.

“La. R.S. 1889(A) and (B) require only that the City “shall furnish … suitable offices” and pay for the “expenses and maintenance of the … offices.” Such language dictates the City need only fund
costs associated with the physical structure and maintenance of the offices used by the Marshal.”

Read the full decision of the court of appeals below.