A New Orleans attorney has asked an Orleans Parish civil judge to compel Mayor LaToya Cantrell to disclose detailed information about her personal finances in open court as part of an ongoing legal dispute tied to a failed restraining order case.
In a motion filed Dec. 2, attorney Justin Schmidt, who represents New Orleans resident Anne Breaux, is seeking a court order that would require Cantrell to turn over tax returns, pay stubs, property title documents and a range of other financial records. Schmidt argues the disclosure is necessary to determine Cantrell’s ability to pay nearly $9,800 in court-ordered attorney’s fees she still owes his client.
Schmidt says Cantrell owes $9,763.94 stemming from her unsuccessful efforts to obtain a restraining order against Breaux. Cantrell had alleged that Breaux stalked and harassed her after Breaux took photographs from her balcony of the mayor and her former security guard, Jeffrey Vappie. Courts ultimately rejected Cantrell’s claims, and the Louisiana Supreme Court declined to take up the matter. Breaux later filed a separate civil lawsuit against Cantrell over the incident.
According to Schmidt’s latest filing, Cantrell has already paid $15,540.36 in attorney’s fees connected to the failed restraining order attempts, but a balance remains unpaid. The motion includes a Nov. 5, 2024, email from Cantrell’s attorney, Eddie Castaing, stating that the mayor “does not have the available funds or net assets to pay the balance.”
In that email, Castaing requested a 30-day delay to allow Cantrell time to obtain the funds needed to satisfy the outstanding amount. Schmidt claims that since then, Cantrell has made no meaningful effort to pay the remaining balance. As a result, he is asking the court to intervene and require the mayor to formally explain her financial situation.
If granted, the request could place Cantrell’s personal finances under public scrutiny in a rare and highly visible courtroom proceeding. The motion adds another legal and political complication for the mayor as she continues to face multiple lawsuits and ongoing criticism related to her conduct in office.
