Could a Louisiana city marshal charge separate fees for serving a garnishment and interrogatories together?

Plain-English summary

The Shreveport city marshal asked whether serving several documents on one employer during a garnishment generated one service fee or separate fees. The Attorney General concluded that La. R.S. 13:5807 allowed a separate fee for each document served. Its example combined the $28.50 fee for service and return of a garnishment under a writ of fieri facias with the $10 fee for interrogatories, totaling $38.50.

The conclusion rested on the statute’s distinct fee entries and an earlier AG opinion that allowed separate charges when multiple documents were served on one person. The opinion addressed that combined garnishment-and-interrogatories example; it did not create a general fee outside the statute’s listed services.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2015. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Did one employer’s receipt of both documents limit the marshal to one fee?

No. The AG said service on a single person at the same time did not prevent separate fees for separate documents.

How did the opinion reach $38.50?

It added the stated $28.50 garnishment service-and-return fee to the $10 interrogatories service fee.

Could the marshal charge that amount for every civil filing?

The opinion addressed the described garnishment with interrogatories. It relied on the specific entries in La. R.S. 13:5807, not a general fee for every filing.

Background and statutory framework

The cited fee schedule separately listed service or attempted service of interrogatories and service or attempted service and return of garnishment under a writ of fieri facias. The AG applied its earlier opinion, La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 98-0203, which had read a similar fee schedule as allowing charges for multiple items served on one individual.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/15-0106

Original opinion text

j5itute of 1fiouil.liunu
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE
70804-9005
JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
AITORNEYGENERAL

DEC 22 2D15
OPINION 15-0106
48-A GARNISHMENTS
La. R.S. 13:5807
Mr. Charlie Caldwell, Jr.
Pursuant to La. R.S. 13:5807, if a City Marshal serves a
Shreveport City Marshal
single individual with multiple documents at the same time,
1244 Texas Avenue
he is permitted to charge separate service fees for each
document served. The appropriate service fee allowed the
Shreveport, LA 71101
City Marshal of the City of Shreveport for service of a
garnishment under a writ of nert facias with interrogatories attached is $38.50.
Dear Mr. Caldwell,

Your request for an Attorney General's Opinion has been assigned to me for research and reply. As City Marshal for the City of Shreveport, you have asked whether La. RS.
13:5807 permits the Marshal to charge a separate service fee for each individual document served on an employer pursuant to a garnishment proceeding.

La. RS. 13:5807 sets forth a fee schedule providing the amount constables and marshals are entitled to for services in civil matters. The following fees are relevant to your inquiry:

A. Constables and marshals, except in Orleans Parish and as provided by RS. 13:5807.1, shall be entitled to the following fees of office, and no more, in civil matters:
• • •
(3) For making service or attempted service of interrogatories and notice of cross interrogatories, ten dollars.

(4) For making service or attempted service and return of garnishment under writ of fieri facias, twenty-eight dollars and fifty cents.
• • •

Our office addressed a similar issue in La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 98-0203. There, we noted that the statute (then La. RS. 33:1704) delineated separate charges for separate services and did not limit or otherwise prohibit a constable or marshal from charging fees based on multiple items. We concluded that a constable or marshal is permitted to charge separate service fees for each document served on a single individual.

Page 2

Mr. Charlie Caldwell, Jr.
Opinion 15-0106
Page 2

Therefore, if a constable or marshal served a single individual with a garnishment under a Writ of Fieri Facias with interrogatories attached, he is entitled to charge a service fee for service and return or the garnishment as well as a separate service fee for the interrogatories.

Applying this reasoning to the question presented by your request, it is the opinion of this office that if the City Marshal for the City of Shreveport serves an employer with multiple documents at the same time, he is permitted to charge a separate service fee for each document served pursuant to the garnishment proceeding. For example, the Marshal is entitled to a fee of $28.50 for the service and return of a garnishment under a Writ of Fieri Facias. If he serves this with interrogatories, he may charge an additional
$10.00 fee for service of the interrogatories, for a total of $38.50.

We hope this sufficiently answers your inquiry; however, if we may be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

With best regards,

JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: (It tCbiM FiULr2Itj­
Andrea Barient
Assistant Attorney General