The Louisiana Supreme Court has declined to review cases tied to the legal battle over the former Edward Wisner Donation.
The decision leaves a lower court’s ruling in favor of the City of New Orleans and the New Orleans City Council.
More than a century after Edward Wisner gave thousands of acres of Louisiana wilderness to New Orleans, city leaders say a long fight over the land and its revenue has reached a major turning point.
The court upheld trial court rulings that confirmed the city owns the former trust assets. It also invalidated a 2020 trust extension signed by former Mayor LaToya Cantrell, according to city and council leaders.
The dispute centers on land and assets spread across 50,000 acres of Louisiana bayou wilderness. City officials say the assets are worth tens of millions of dollars and generate about $10 million a year.
Wisner, a philanthropist, gave the land to the city in 1914. It was meant to be held in trust for 100 years. Officials say the trust was dissolved by court order in 2014 after a legal battle won by the city.
But the fight did not end there.
The city said more litigation followed, along with the disputed 2020 extension. City leaders say those challenges raised questions about who owned the property and delayed access to millions of dollars in revenue.
The latest litigation began in 2022, when the City Council challenged how the former Wisner Trust assets were being handled.
READ MORE:Louisiana Supreme Court lets Wisner trust ruling stand
