Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Executive Session Litigation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bossier City Council approves executive session to discuss two federal lawsuits
Summary
At a special Sept. 10 meeting the Bossier City Council voted to enter executive session under Louisiana law to discuss litigation strategy in two federal cases: Western Marriott v. City of Bossier City and Rover Group LLC v. City of Bossier City (U.S. District Court, WDLA, case 5:23-cv-01694).
Bossier City Council members voted Wednesday to enter an executive session to discuss litigation strategy in two federal lawsuits involving the city.
At the special meeting convened at 11 a.m. Sept. 10, 2025, the council approved a motion to go into executive session “pursuant to Louisiana revised statute 42 17 a 2” to discuss “ongoing litigation identified as Western Marriott versus the City of Bossier City” and “Rover Group LLC versus City of Bossier City,” currently pending in the United States District Court, Western District of Louisiana, Shreveport Division, case number 5:23-cv-01694. The motion to approve the executive session was made by Councilman Cliff Smith and seconded by Councilman Brian Hammonds; the council carried the motion by voice vote.
The council president (unnamed in the public record for this meeting) read the statute and the two case captions into the record and listed the officials and attorneys who would attend the closed session: councilmembers Creighton Cochran, Joel Girard, Cliff Smith, Chris Smith, Deborah Ross and Brian Hammonds; Mayor Tommy Chandler; Chief Administrative Officer Nottingham; City Attorney Charles Jacobs; Assistant City Attorney Richard Grama; outside counsel Bobby Gillum of Wilkins, Carmody & Gillum and Lane Clark of Weiner Weiss; Risk Manager Stacy Crawford; City Clerk Phyllis McGraw; and Administrative Assistant Emily Pitts. The council then recessed into executive session and indicated it would return to open session when the discussion concluded.
Before the executive session vote, a member of the council (unnamed on the record) said the closed-door discussion should be limited to the two lawsuits named in the motion and that “any other discussion that comes up that the meeting will be stopped immediately.” That limitation was placed on the record prior to the vote.
One member of the public addressed the council before the session. David Crockett of 653 Dumaine Drive told the council, “I wanna applaud the council for trying to move forward on these legal issues. I believe they've been a a major stain to Bossier City.” Crockett said he had been “a victim of some of the ... open meeting violations” referenced in recent litigation and urged the city to coordinate press releases and work with the news media when appropriate.
The meeting also included a separate, unanimous voice vote to approve the day’s agenda; that motion was made by Councilman Brian Hammonds and seconded by Councilman Joel Girard. After the executive session motion passed, the president announced, “Motion carries,” and the council recessed into closed session. The council indicated it would return to open session when the executive-session discussion concluded.
No formal vote records with named tallies were taken in open session; the meeting used voice votes and the council did not record individual yea/nay tallies on the motions read into the public record.
The council referenced its adopted meeting rules resolution and Louisiana open meetings statutes at the start of the session to explain procedures and decorum for the meeting. No final decisions or settlements were announced in open session prior to the recess.
