JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – A federal court dismissed the remaining claims brought by Retro Metro against the City of Jackson.

In 2023, the City of Jackson vacated office space it had been using at the Metrocenter Mall due to deplorable conditions. Retro Metro, who owned the spaced, filed a lawsuit against the city for breach of lease, seeking an additional 10 years of payments, which would have totaled more than $4.5 million.

The court previously dismissed the breach of lease claims. On Wednesday, the court dismissed the additional claims.

Today, that same court dismissed the remaining claims brought by Retro Metro, which alleged the city had discriminated against Retro Metro because its owners are African-American, and because the city leased new space with majority-white companies. Retro Metro had sought damages exceeding $4.5 million.

We are pleased that the court recognized that the city’s motivation in moving out of the Metrocenter was to protect its employees and the public from the poor condition of the building and not because of race, and we will continue to fight for the city and our citizens.

Mayor of Jackson’s Office

The city reported several issues for the move, including massive potholes in the parking lot, pests inside the building, mold and broken air conditioning units. Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba said the move was not personally motivated, but it was an effort to do what’s best for the city.