Bar owners seek judgment in security fee dispute

Published May 15, 2013 10:51am ET



LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — Several Lafayette downtown bar owners hope to strike down a special security fee without a court fight, arguing on a technical issue that Lafayette city-parish government has failed to respond to their federal lawsuit by the legally required deadline.

The federal Clerk of Court’s Office on Tuesday put city-parish government on notice that it might lose the case by default for not responding to the lawsuit filed last year.

City-Parish Attorney Michael Hebert tells The Advocate (http://bit.ly/17siONy ) the city-parish government will likely file court motions contesting the default judgment.

At issue in the lawsuit is a downtown security fee that the City-Parish Parish Council approved in 2009.

The fee ranged from $150 to $5,000 a month per bar, depending on capacity.

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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com